I feel the pressure. I do. Y’know, with this whole blogging thing. That said, I’d like to alleviate some of this pressure (and also tackle this First-Post-Stage-Fright) by making my very first entry about something very near and dear to my heart: Running.
Two Januaries ago, I was lucky enough to run the Disney World Half Marathon in Orlando with two of my close high school friends. I received immense support and guidance from my family, friends, and colleagues. Funny enough, a good number of my coworkers are huge running enthusiasts (borderline fanatics), so I decided to post a retrospective blog post in our internal Cisco social collaboration tool to share my experience.
… And here it is, straight from January 15, 2013:
“As I reflect on this past weekend, I can’t even begin to wrap my head around what was accomplished: the entire running experience, and–to be semi off topic–The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (being the complete nerd that I am.) “Magical” is really the only word that describes this trip across the continental U.S. to Orlando. Long story short, Mendi was transported to a land of youthful splendor where skipping about was the preferred mode of transport. You could tell Disney World really did pull all the stops for their marathon weekend. My only wish is that the next time I run in Florida, it’ll be for the entire 26.2 mile marathon! Or if I’m even more ambitious (read: crazy), there is also what is known as the “Goofy Challenge” (Half Marathon + Marathon in two consecutive days)…yeeeah, trying not to get ahead of myself here, though. Baby steps, Mendi…
Before I get into some trip photos, here are some lessons I learned after completing my first half marathon:
- Probably should have thought through the timing of the race (we had to get to the park at 3AM EST, which translates to 12AM PST… Midnight wake-up call, anyone?)
- One should probably train if even just a little for the Half Marathon, no matter how many times you tell yourself “oh, piece of cake–I ran Cross Country 5 years ago in high school!”… That is a big NO.
- Never get cocky at the start of the race. A Mile 3 “This feels great! Let me run faster!” often times translates into a Mile 10 “Amputation sounds like a great option right now…”. Pace yourself!! It’s better to start slow and finish strong than to start fast and peter out…
- Especially in something like the Disney World Half Marathon, where the experience trumps all else (e.g. race time), I’m so glad I was able to get fully immersed in the Disney atmosphere. Running through Cinderella’s Castle, seeing all these Disney mascots dancing along the way, and the general camaraderie among the runners really made for an unparalleled experience.
- Running photos are generally unflattering. Definitely not including those in my modeling portfolio (kidding :-)….).
Now onto some photos:
5AM crawl towards the Start Line. A 60,000+ runner stampede!
High School Cross Country Teammates (Note: None of us trained for this event.)
Motivational Pre-Race Road Sign:
Entering the Magic Kingdom Park at sunrise, with Cinderella’s Castle in the distance. Breathtaking! 🙂
Please disregard my “Runner’s High” look. I was clearly more excited than I should’ve been.
Running under Cinderella’s Castle. Lifelong Dream: Achieved.
The Donald Duck Finisher’s Medal (which was surprisingly VERY heavy…)
On a non-half-marathon note: ANOTHER LIFE DREAM UNLOCKED: VISITING HOGWARTS.
Well hope you enjoyed this photo summary of my Orlando Trip! I have over 400 more photos to share if you’d like to see them (but you probably don’t–I don’t even want to go through them, haha). I HIGHLY recommend the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. No theme park has ever transformed me back into a child so effectively. Awe-inspiring and too cool for words.
Such a life-changing weekend. Currently still on Cloud 9. :-)”
the wanderlust is real. 