First Race Jitters

My Disney World 5K is this Saturday. Last Saturday morning I awoke from a traumatic dream which involved missing my race and not realizing it ‘til later that afternoon.

Another “jitter” is that I’m worried about whether or not I can function when running “for real” as opposed to on a treadmill.
For this Thursday, my trainer has prescribed an “easy” 2-mile walk/jog for my last “run” prior to Saturday. It’s supposed to be in the upper 30s on Thursday, so if it’s sunny and calm, it won’t be too bad, so I might do my easy 2-miler back where I started all this six months ago…at Fairgrounds Park.

One of my pre-race goals was to set a new personal best before heading off to Disney World. Two days ago was my last full 5K run before my trip, and I had to really push it, but I did achieve a new personal best, finishing in 28:52. That equates to a pace of 9:19 per mile. There was a time that I thought achieving a 10-minute mile pace would be my supreme goal!!

Now that I’ve broken my own record, I’m just going to go and have fun and enjoy my run at Disney. Below is a map of this year’s “Royal Family 5K” that makes its way around Epcot. There will be official photographers and Disney character photo opportunities along the way. The photos will be available on-line within a couple of days and I’m sure they can be mine for an astronomical fee!! :)

I’ll probably be tweeting a lot from Disney World, so be sure to follow me at: http://twitter.com/joangrott

Here’s a link to the official website of the Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend: http://www.disneyprincesshalfmarathon.com/