expo

Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend

November 24, 2013 · By Kristin Smith · 2 Comments

After the Meet-Up on Friday night and before the Wine & Dine Half on Saturday night, Adam and I spent some time in Orlando on our own. It was really strange being there without Braden and Mackenzie. The entire time, I felt like we were forgetting something. I’d forgotten how easy it is to do stuff without little ones and all of their stuff. We missed them though, there were several times that we each commented on things we knew they’d love and how we want to bring them back soon. Disney with kids really is magical. It’s fun with adults, but it’s just not the same.

Anyway, Friday morning we got up and headed over to the race expo to pick up our bib numbers and race packets. I was really surprised at how few people were there. We had to wait in line for about five minutes to get our numbers, but it was nothing like the madness at the Princess Half Expo.

After we got our packets, we headed over to the other building to get our race shirts and to wander around a bit. We had to stop by the Raw Threads booth to grab a thank you gift for our friend Jenn who babysat for us Thursday night so we could attend the Meet-Up. Adam found the perfect shirt to wear when he runs the Disney Half in January

I grabbed a few Sweaty Bands, because I’m an addict and drooled over a jacket at the New Balance booth, then tried to swap my shirt out for a smaller size. I’d ordered a small (they’re unisex, boo!) but it was still too big. Unfortunately they didn’t have anything smaller than a medium and suggested that I come back the next day right before the expo closed. We stopped by the runDisney booth on our way out so we could check out the medals — I can’t wait to get these four early next year!

We headed back to our hotel (we stayed at the Dolphin) to drop off our stuff, then wandered over to Epcot for a bit. I loved being able to walk from the hotel to Epcot, it was really convenient and the walk along the Boardwalk was so nice!

We spent a few hours wandering around Epcot and trying out the yummy food and wine. I’ve only been to Epcot once and it was with the kids and they were less than thrilled. I’ve never wandered around the World Showcase or been to the Food and Wine Festival so it was a nice treat for me. Unfortunately, like I mentioned in my race recap, my belly didn’t really cooperate all that much. I tried a few bites of a few things, but didn’t really get to enjoy anything.

Although I did find one thing that I think will be a NEED every time we head back to Disney – pineapple dipped in dark chocolate and covered with a caramel drizzle. We got it at the Werther’s shop and it was amazing. Their caramel corn was really yummy too.

Around 7, we decided we’d had enough and were tired so we wandered back over to the hotel and facetimed with the kids. As usual, Braden kept us entertained. I think we were on with him for close to an hour. He was such a little chatterbox and wanted to tell us all about everything he did with Mrs. Jenn, Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle D.

He also shook his toosh at us, because apparently that’s what 5-year-olds do on facetime.

We tried to facetime with Mackenzie, but I don’t think she understood. I kept talking to her and she just kept looking at the iPad with this sad little face. After a minute or so, her little lip started to quiver and she got all teary eyed and started crying. My mom took her and comforted her, but it was hard. I hate that she was so sad. I know it’s good for us to do things on our own sometimes, but we really miss our little ones when we do. Mackenzie’s sad little face didn’t help, I just wanted to go home and hug her.

Saturday morning, we got up and headed back over to the Expo to see if we could swap my shirt out again and for Adam to go to the Runner Relations booth to get his corral changed. He was originally in H or I, I think, and he got bumped up to D with me.

We finished there and headed back over to Epcot for lunch at Via Napoli. Our reservations weren’t for another hour or so, so we went over to the Mission to Mars ride to check it out and see if it was something Braden might like. I liked it, but it made Adam a little bit queasy so we’ll probably hold off on it with B for a few years.

Some friends of ours rave about the pepperoni pizza and risotto balls at Via Napoli so we were both excited to try them. We had both and they were right, it was delicious! Probably not the best pre-race fuel, but we enjoyed it! After lunch, we walked wandered around Epcot a bit longer then decided we should probably head back to the hotel to get a nap before the race.

Have you ever been to Epcot? During the Food and Wine Festival?

What is your favorite attraction there?

Do you have a hard time leaving your kids behind?

Filed Under: Us · Tagged: adam, braden, disney, epcot, expo, friends, kristin, mackenzie, runDisney

2013 Disney’s Fit for a Princess Expo

February 22, 2013 · By Kristin Smith · 1 Comment

Once the meet-up was over, I was eager to make my way over to the expo (after a quick pit-stop to go Soarin’ with my new friend Christina). This is the first race I’ve done where there is an expo, so to say I was excited would be an understatement. I went to the expo marathon weekend but it was hard to take my time wandering around since I had Braden with me. This time, I planned to shop.. oh, and I did. Adam took the day off to come down and hang out with me at the expo, he’s recently started running too and was excited to sign up for the Wine & Dine half and check out all of the fun running gear. Before he arrived, I picked up my bib and made my way over to the runners relations booth to change corrals. I figured my time from my 10K in January would bump me up from E to B.. I was shocked when she slapped this sticker on my bib!

Corral A?! For my very first big race?! Talk about intimidating!! I haven’t decided if I’ll actually start there, or bump myself back to B so I can hang out with some friends to calm my nerves and hopefully ensure that I don’t start off too quick and then burn out at the end. Once I had that worked out, I picked up my race tee and wandered around for a bit waiting for Adam to arrive.. and by wander, I mean I picked up a few new Sweaty Bands and a cute new Raw Threads shirt. Adam arrived and we headed over to Pepper Market to grab lunch, one where we could actually sit and talk with each other and not chase kids all over the restaurant or spend half the time picking up the food Mackenzie decided was offensive and threw on the floor. I adore my kids, but sometimes it’s nice to have an actual conversation with my husband!

Once we were done, we headed back down to the expo and both signed up for the Wine & Dine half and I stopped for a quick picture with Jeff Galloway, since I didn’t get one with him before he had to leave the meet-up this morning to get to the expo. He’s such a nice guy, very kind and really seems to take an interest in what you are saying when you talk to him. I’m thrilled that I got the opportunity to meet him and run with him!

I’d stopped by the New Balance booth earlier in the day to pick up the runDisney shoes I won at the meet-up, but they were out of my size and told me to come back after lunch. I headed over to grab them while Adam wandered around. Redbook had a really great table set up where spectators could make signs to encourage their runners during the race. Apparently my darling husband missed out on the “encourage” part of that, because this is what he came up with. Yes, he thinks he’s funny.

Anyway, I’m in love with my new shoes! They won’t work for me for running, but I know I’m going to love wearing them out running errands and especially during our many visits to Disney! Since I won them at the meet-up, I was lucky and didn’t have to wait in the mile-long line for them. The New Balance staff was great and made sure I had the perfect fit before sending me on my way!

Our last stop before heading out was to visit the Another Mother Runner girls, Sarah Bowen Shea and Dimity McDowell. These ladies are authors of Run Like a Mother, which motivated me to get my toosh off the couch and out the door. Their podcasts keep me putting one foot in front of the other during my long runs on Saturday and provide so much wonderful information, while keeping it light and fun. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been on the receiving end of strange looks from other runners when I’m cracking up listening to them. I picked up one of their shirts (the same one that Dimity is wearing on the left) and I’m in love with it, I want to order a few more. They’re super soft, comfy, and very flattering. It doesn’t hurt that it says “I run things.” – which is oh, so true! I also grabbed a copy of their newest book, Train Like a Mother. I’m planning to use their half marathon own it plan to train for the Wine & Dine half, hopefully I’ll crush my time from this weekend!

After a quick chat with them, we headed out to meet up with my parents and our kids, got checked into the hotel, and settled in for the night. Mr. B has a big day tomorrow – he’s running his very first one mile race!

Filed Under: Running · Tagged: adam, disney, expo, kristin, runDisney, running

Disney Marathon Expo

January 11, 2013 · By Kristin Smith · 1 Comment

This weekend, Disney is hosting their annual Walt Disney World Half Marathon, Marathon, and the Goofy Race and a Half. One of our good friends is running the marathon, so we decided to head down for the weekend to see him and watch him cross the finish line. Since I am running in a Disney race next month, I was really curious about how everything would be set up and about some of the vendors that were going to be at the expo. Plus, we registered Braden for the kids races tomorrow, so we needed to pick up his bib and t-shirt. He’s really excited about the race, he keeps telling us that he’s going to beat Uncle Carter and high-five Mickey at the finish line.

Once we picked up his race packet, we spent an hour or so wandering around the expo. I picked up a really cute shirt from Raw Threads and a Sweaty Band. I’ve been eyeing the Raw Threads shirt for a while, and after seeing it in person and feeling how soft it was, I decided I had to have it. Now, I need to actually finish the 13.1 miles so I can wear it! I wasn’t so sure about the Sweaty Bands, I’m not a big fan of headbands (they tend to give me a headache) and they always slip off of my head. It seemed like every girl I saw was wearing one though and their sign swore that it wouldn’t slip, so I bought one to give it a try. I ended up going back for two more because I loved it so much. They really don’t slip and are a super cute way to keep my hair out of my face even when I’m not running!

We left the expo and went to check into our hotel and then to grab dinner. I used to work at Chevy’s in high school and I love their salsa, the closest one to us is right outside of Disney so I tried to convince Braden to go there for dinner, but he wasn’t having it. We ended up at Cici’s Pizza and I dined with not only my adorable little guy, but also with a terrifying little T-Rex.

Braden did some serious carb-loading and topped off his dinner with two cinnamon rolls and a brownie. I don’t know where he puts this food.

We finished dinner and headed back to the hotel to meet up with Adam and Mackenzie, then it was time for baths and bed so Braden could build up his “injury” (aka energy) for his big race tomorrow!