Friday, November 21, 2014

Avengers Half - Post Race

If you haven't been following along, this is the FOURTH (and final) post about our Avengers Half weekend :) First there was the Costume Creation, followed by the Pre Race Festivities, and yesterday was the Race Recap! So, if you haven't read those posts yet, STOP AND DO IT!

I left off with us heading back to our hotel after the race (due to the HIGH WINDS runDisney kicked us out of the Family Reunion area and since Ryan didn't feel like meandering for too long after his 11.5 minute PR we made our way back to the hotel). 

We stayed at the SpringHill Suites (in case you missed my post about the debacles I have gotten us into with hotels, feel free to check out the post about the 2012 Disneyland Half hotel or better yet the story about our TinkerBell hotel... you will NOT be disappointed ;) ), which was super nice (DUH! I am no longer allowed to book the hotel, so obviously it was swanky). They had a big breakfast spread, so even though we had plans to meet up with friends for lunch we still hit it up for a bit (I mean, let's be honest, most of us use running as a reason to eat extra calories, #AmIRightOrAmIRight?!). 

Ryan and I were planning on meeting AJ, Ivie, Kara and her sister Kelly in California Adventure for lunch before we all had to part ways. AJ was dealing with some foot issues (yes, I might have tried to talk him into borrowing one of his sons' Razor Scooters to make a boot-scoot, but he shot me down), so they were a little ways behind us. After we got our moneys worth at the breakfast buffet fueled up we went up to the room to get ready. We showered, Ryan napped a bit, we watched some football (GO LIONS), and then packed up. 

Around 10am we checked out of the hotel and drove over to park at Disneyland (we technically could have kept our car at the hotel, but figured it would be closer and faster to park at the parks and then leave from there rather than having to walk back to the hotel after lunch). They were still diverting traffic a bit from the race, so we ended up at the Jessie and Woody parking lot. There were quite a few folks heading to the parks at that point; it seemed like we had to wait a good 20 minutes for a bus to take us over.

As the bus was pulling in I saw Carrie and Elise from Sparkle Athletic. I was hoping I could meet up with them after the race (in the Family Reunion area) so we could all get a picture together in our costumes, but when Mother Nature stirred up the wind we weren't able to make that happen. I pointed them out to Ryan and asked if he cared if I ran over to say "Hi". Of course he didn't, so we jumped off the bus (I am pretty sure it was stopped...) and scurried over.

Yes, Elise is 29 weeks pregnant and finished the Avengers Half in 2:04.
These ladies are SPARKLY SPEED DEMONS!

We were meeting up with the crew around 11:30am. Once we got into California Adventure it was around 11:15, so we had a few minutes to burn. To kill a little time we went into a few of the shops along Buena Vista Street. THAT'S WHEN WE SAW HIM..... SANTA! I KNOW HIM! Ryan asked me if I wanted a picture and I, OF COURSE, said HECK-TO-THE-YES! We jumped in line and got a picture with the main man!

Although Ryan thought I had been naughty this year,
I assured Santa that I was on the good list!

Once we were done with Santa and his helpers we went out to the fountain to wait for our lunch buddies. I got a text from Ivie and AJ that they were running a little late (the boot was making the trek over a little slower than expected). Kara and Kelly were also a few minutes delayed while checking out of their hotel. As I was telling Ryan about our lunch guests the newsie kids pulled up on a trolley cart for a little performance. Instead of watching them, Ryan noticed that the photographer by the Mickie and Walt statue was looking a bit bored. He asked if I wanted to go over for a picture - HA, you don't have to ask me twice!

When we got to the photographer, Ryan noticed he had a Mickey wreath on his hip. Ryan asked if we could use it as a prop and the photographer was stoked! Since everyone was watching the performance, no one seemed to want any pictures. The photographer took full advantage of us being his subjects and had a mini photo shoot with us :)

Mickey wreath ;)

Okay, now you stand like Mickie and you stand like Walt....

Now swap places...

Look into each other's eyes...

Once we finished being models, we met up with Kara, Kelly, AJ, and Ivie and made our way over to Flo's Diner for lunch. Ryan decided that his breakfast buffet wasn't enough calories, so he paired his lunch with a strawberry shake topped with Oreos. Oh yeah, and then, since our food was taking an extra long time to come out (not sure why, we both got the kid's mac 'n cheese with a side of fruit and carrots) they offered us a pie for the wait, so he also had a mini pumpkin pie with lunch ;) SUGAR BOMB!

Lunch was a blast, but unfortunately it was time to say good-bye. We took some pictures and then all split up. We will see each other again in just a few short weeks at the Star Wars Half Marathon in January, so it made leaving a little easier (not to mention we text daily so it makes the time go by faster ;) ).

The Crew!

The Ladies!

Obviously Sunday afternoon traffic is LAME-SAUCE, so it took us about 75 minutes to Oceanside. We had to go pick up Walt the Wiener Dog from our friends' house (we are blessed to have some amazing friends to love on Walt while we are out of town, not to mention he has a girl friend named Dizzy he gets to sleep with while he is there ;) ) before making our way back to our house.

Dizzy the Frenchie and Walty the Weeney
Source: KatLouHod's Instagram

By about 4pm we were pulling up to our place, ready to unpack and get Ryan packed again! Yup, it would be just a few short hours before he would be heading out to catch a plane to Hawaii (he had to go art direct a photo shoot on the North Shore for Reef... rough life, huh?!).

It was a whirl-wind weekend, but one I wouldn't change for a thing. To be honest, I think I might pass on the Avengers Half in the future (my heart belongs to the Disneyland Half, even though the weather {minus the crazy wind} is much better in November than August), but that doesn't mean I didn't love every moment of it. runDisney is all about the magic, miles and memories, but the BIGGEST part are THE PEOPLE! Thank you to each and every one of you for making it a weekend to remember!

How long do your Disney Blues normally last?!

1 comment:

ivieanne said...

My Disney Blues were much longer this time because we spent so much time with so many amazing people!!! The race is a race, but you're right, it's the people that make it magical.