Faith and Trust, Part 3: Neverland 5K!

Now, Disney 5Ks, like everything else at Disney, are pretty darn expensive. And the Neverland 5K is the only one I think it wrth spending the money on. It starts inside a theme park, and it’s the ONLY Disney one on EITHER coast that does. The term “magical” gets thrown around so much describing Disney things to the point where the word loses some of it’s strength, so I won’t use it. But walking down Main Street with all the lights on, seeing all the runners and costumes and the DJ getting everyone pumped up, it was … well, it was magical okay?!

 

I’m walkin’ right down the middle of Main Street, USA

And then the race starts not with a gun shot, but with Tinker Bell flying around the castle and a fireworks show. No, not a single burst of fireworks- I’m talking a whole fireworks synchronized to music extravaganza. I’ll admit, I cried. It was all so overwhelming and exciting. That moment before my first-ever Disney race will never be matched- it’s just the perfect moment frozen forever. 

Obligatory blurry fireworks photo

Another thing I love about this race is that is done entirely between the two theme parks. Disney property the whole time, baby!

Starting line selfie- pre-race tradition

 

There’s a lot of backstage parts, which is always neat to see, and lots of cast members at those parts, cheering and seeming genuinely excited for everyone. 

Running + picture taking= BLURRY

At Disneyland’s Magic Kingdom I didn’t see a whole lot of character stops, and the ones I did see had such amazingly long lines that I just didn’t have much desire to stop. However, right by California Screamin’ they had this cute little set up. Everyone was just standing in front of it, but I guess we are boundary pushers- I think in 3D and we actually got in it for our photo. 

Everyone I saw after us followed our lead. Trendsetters. Keep your eye on me!

And right around the corner from the finish line were these crazy kids- the line was less than a minute- I guess it being so close to end people wanted to just be done?

Another great aspect of this 5k was finishing in a theme park. They had the lights and fountains from World of Color were going, the atmosphere was one of PAR-TAAAAY. It’s just another part of the Disney experience that comes with the price tag!

We hung out and soaked it all in, took about a million pictures, but then quickly realized if we left right THEN we could still be ready in enough time to make early morning extra magic hours! 

Another nice Disney touch- they give rubber medallions to the 5K finishers- moist places to give medals for 5Ks.

 

Faith and Trust, Part Deux- The Expo and the Happiest Shoes on Earth

Thursday morning dawned (seriously, we were up and about since 4 am due to excitement a jet lag. Not that I’ve completed Disney runs on both coasts, the whole going back two hours makes those 3 am wake up calls that feel like 5 am much less painful than the 2:30 am ones that feel like 1:30! But I digress …)

The sky’s awake, so I’m awake …

We hung out at the parks in the morning and then headed over to the expo for the bib pick up. Now, I’ve heard constant horror stories about how crowded, busy, insane runDisney expos are. And with the addition of runDisney New Balance shoes these events have turned into fever-pitch mania. And, yup, I was throwing myself in the fire because I had my heart set on getting a pair of Cinderella running shoes! Feed the beast! They had this whole process that they have since done away with involving getting to expo hours before it opens to wait in line to sign up for a time to come back to wait in line to get your shoes. Did ya catch all that? And we got there an hour before THAT line was supposed to open and there were still several hundred people in front of us! In addition to that, there were already dozens of people waiting in the merchandise line, which wasn’t going to be open for another four hours. I do sometime wonder if Disney does this on purpose- whips everyone into a must buy now because it’ll be gone state of agitation. Although a simpler answer would be to let people preorder race merchandise, or, I don’t know, maybe make more? It seems like the same items consistently sell out at EVERY EVENT (wine glasses, event-specific sweaty bands) and some things they have surplus of ($45 cotton t-shirts).

West Coast Partners Statue!

We got our time to come back and grabbed sandwiches from Earl of Sandwich and eat lunch on the balcony of our hotel. That’s another nice thing about Disneyland races- everything is so close together. No buses or shuttles- walk to hotel, expo, parks, starting line. Anyway, go our text that we could get our shoes, got the bibs, wandered around the expo (even making it into the merchandise area and getting a wine glass).

Yay for Team Poor Unfortunate Soles!

After the expo the real fun was about to begin! My sister was arriving, there were radiator springs to race and a chef’s table to eat at! Angela had been admiring the Minnie New Balance shoes and she saw my Facebook post with my Cinderella ones and was appropriately jealous. But me being the awesome person I am had a surprise- Disney New Balance for all!

The start of something magical -The Happiest Shoes on Earth!

There was a small debate about if we should wear these shoes to Napa Rose, and the answer was yes- I based my opinion on the fact that these shoes were waaaaaaay more expensive than the $10 “dressy” ones I bought at Target. And then early to bed- the first run was second star to the right and straight on till morning!

Ah, music. A magic beyond all we do here!

Okay, since my running music playlist is rather eclectic and expansive this will probably be a multi part series on my playlist, because like every good pretentious music snob (aka: every college student) my music choices are smart and IMPORTANT and YOU will be a better person because I have taken the time to introduce you to what I like. You’re welcome.

I have also decided to limit each post to easily-digestible segments of ten songs and I’ll pretend to have some sort of overreaching theme for why I picked these particular ones.

Today’s edition is …. Newest additions!

These aren’t even necessarily new songs, or even new songs to me, they are songs that have been recently added to my playlist. As a side note, my playlists as always titled RFYL, which means Run For Your Life, which represents for a promise and a threat to me! And when I have a themed playlist, such as a Disney running playlist, it is titled DRFYL. See what I did there?

Okay, so the 10 most recent additions to my playlist are:

1. The Phoenix, Fall Out Boy

The very first lyrics in this song are, “Put on your war paint!” And when the beat starts I feel like I am getting ready for battle and can kick everyone’s ass. I also personally feel an affiliation to the phoenix and rising from the ashes because every longer than ever before run I do, I feel like I reclaiming something I once was yet also being better than before.

2. Step in Time, Mousercise

This song was a compromise because I had wanted to original version from the Mary Poppins soundtrack, but it is over 8 minutes long and there are a lot of “dead” spaces (for lack of a better description, where you are waiting for the music to build which is fine for a car ride, but when you are counting on the music to explode with energy it can feel interminable. The Mousercise version is a tight less than two minutes ball of fun, plus it has the added bonus of reminding me when I was six years old running around the house with my sisters dancing to it.

3. Rewrite this Story, SMASH cast

This was an experiment in not having a song that has a fast tempo but I really, really like on the playlist. This song has such tight harmonies that I get goosebumps when it reaches its fever pitch.

4. Cups (radio version), Anna Kendrick

Just because I really like this song 🙂

5. Can’t Hold Us, Macklemore

There’s just something about songs that make you feel like you can do anything! And they lyrics are cheeky, “Give a little speed to a great white on Shark Week” always makes me smile, because like any good student of Liz Lemon and 30 Rock, I do try to live every week like it’s Shark Week. AND he references Plinko! The song is amazing. Macklemore is amazing.

6. Thrift Shop, Macklemore

This one of those rare songs that I feel the explicit version is the only one worth listening to. That also makes in a RFYL playlist exclusive in my life because that’s the only time I will never have kids with me and can revel in the R rated lyrics. As a former Sailor, I have developed a real appreciation for when curse words are used with purpose and great affect and this song turns swearing into a word-smithing art form. Plus, have you seen the music video to this song? It is hilarious! It seems like a Weird Al version of a song, but it’s not- it’s the original. I actually didn’t really care for the song until I saw the music video, and then I realized the spirit in which the song was performed and totally got it.

7. Birdhouse in Your Soul, They Might be Giants

One of those songs I can’t believe took me this long to add to my RFYL. As an eighth grader, They Might be Giants were the band de jour, although it was the Mmmm Mmmmm Mmmmm song that was most popular. But this song is funny. And Tiny Toons had music videos of Particle Man and Istanbul. Which I am now realizing I don’t have either one in my playlist. That’s going to have to be remedied!

8. Let’s Go to the Mall, Robin Sparkles

I DARE you to listen to this song and not smile. Separating it from the whole HIMYM aspect of it (if such a thing is possible) makes the song extremely confusing, but, well, I have the point of reference so I can laugh when I listen to it. And it is not vocally demanding, so it is very easy to sing along to when you are almost out of breath- expect that giggle takes a surprising amount of energy to get out!

9. Little Wonders, Rob Thomas

Another song I added just because it means a lot to me. I’m not going to go into details about why this song and the movie it’s from, Meet the Robinsons, literally changed my life when I saw them because it’s not really for random public consumption. But if you are ever in town and want to buy me a drink, I’ll share my story. But even without all of that, God, I love these lyrics. I love how in life you never know which flashes of everyday are going to be seared into memory that they can be perfectly recalled forever.

10. All These Things I’ve Done, The Killers

While it’s not the most bouncy, peppy song of the Killer, which is why it so long to be added to the playlist, for heaven’s sake, the very first lyrics are, “When there’s nowhere else to run …” And it has a great build. You can’t help but build up speed as the song carries on.

So what about you? What are your recent finds for good songs to run to? Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments. I am on the hunt for new songs not that I have to make my playlist twice as long to last through a marathon!

BTW, my run this weekend is 15 miles, which will be the first time I have gone a distance beyond the half marathon. Cheers!