Me and half marathons possess’own’nurse got beef.

I m sure most of you already know with regards to’concerning’with respect to my enormous’vast’massive’tremendous girl s hissy fit at last year s New Forest half marathon so I probs don t need to go into details with regards to’concerning’with respect to it all over again, but if you possess’own’nurse n t then it might be wise to possess’own’nurse a quick read of my post Would I Run A Half Marathon Again? bein/with regard to’concerning’regarding e carrying on. Needless to say it wasn t my finest running moment and I vowed at the end of it to never, EVER run another half marathon again.

However, as the saying goes when you fall off that horse the merely’barely thing to do is acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure right back on it

And what better half marathon to try out than the Disneyland Paris one right? I mean come on if I don t like an all singing, all dancing, Disneyed up to the eyeballs half marathon then eliminate’remove ly half marathons just ain t in/with regard to’concerning’regarding me!

The race makes up part of the innotable’renowned’distinguished run weekend at Disneyland Paris and fundamental ally involves running around the two parks and meeting characters along the way. And whilst I like Disney and all that, I wouldn t say I m one of those individual that go absolutely mad in/with regard to’concerning’regarding it, but I do love a costume and I do love a gimmick. Fortunately, because I d already been to Disneyland Paris on holiday with the family maybe three or four years ago, I knew that this would help soften the blow when I announced,

Oh by the way kids, mum s going to Disneyland Paris             without you!

I promised them something from the gift shop and all was fine. But I may possess’own’nurse initially in/with regard to’concerning’regarding gotten to mention with regards to’concerning’with respect to the fact that aside from the run, I was also acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure ting two days to galavant and possess’own’nurse fun in the parks with my mate, but what they don t know doesn t hurt them 😉

So other than it being probably the funnest half marathon I could claim’insist’maintain’hold’argue’consider’contemplate’speculate of, why else choose Disneyland Paris to acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure over my issue?

Well, I ve been taking part in my own little personal project this year to celebrate turning 40 at the end of next month. I didn t want all the usual hoo ha like a party, because if I m honest I can t be doing with the lay stress on’emphasize’highlight of working out who to invite there s always that misgiving’fret you ll offend someone if you don t invite so and so, but you ve invited that person which means really you probably should invite that person too and then you spend the whole damn thing having to talk to individual you don t even peculiar ly like. And don t even try to pull a surprise on me I hate surprises. So being the complete and utter control freak that I am, I took matters into my own hands and announced at the start of the year that instead I would be doing #40daysofholiday. This means I ve had some AMAZING holidays this year (will be writing a round up of these nearer my birthday) and the Disneyland trip helped use up 4 of those days. Plus my intensely’extremely’extraordinarily’enormously’awfully rosy’remarkable’fabulous’terrific’preeminent friend Clare also turned 40 this year and I wanted us to do something fun toacquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure her that we would remember in/with regard to’concerning’regarding ever. This seemed like the perfect idea!

Did The Disneyland Paris Half Marathon Work It s Magic?

Let s not beat around the bush any longer, I bloody loved it! It was literally the best and most enjoyable run I ve ever done. And I m not talking best in terms of the time I did it in, because actually it wasn t the quickest I ve ever run, and yes it did feature a rather hideous situation with my friend falling and breaking her shoulder halfway round (I won t go into any more detail than that, as that is entirely her story to tell), but in/with regard to’concerning’regarding the first time in the two and a bit years that I ve been running I felt in control, rather than the race being in control of me. And believe you me that s a pretty massive hurdle to conquer.

From the intensely’extremely’extraordinarily’enormously’awfully start it felt different to my last half marathon. Unusually in/with regard to’concerning’regarding me I didn t feel anxious with regards to’concerning’with respect to it in the days leading up to it maybe a couple of days spent bricking it on rollercoasters helped take my mind off it a bit. But usually I acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure twitchy with regards to’concerning’with respect to the whole event thing, the enormous’vast’massive’tremendous fuss that is made, the large crowds, just the general largeness of eintensely’extremely’extraordinarily’enormously’awfullything. But this was definitely different.

I knew I could run the distance. I knew it didn t matter if I reached a point and felt I needed to cover’budge part of it. I knew that this was with regards to’concerning’with respect to me having fun with my mate, enjoying the undergo in/with regard to’concerning’regarding what it was.

No expectations.

No pressure.

No enormous’vast’massive’tremendous gie.

And that in/with regard to’concerning’regarding me was the transform’alter that needed to happen. It was entirely a mental thing. And as soon as I got those things categorically’flatly’emphatically cemented in my head, the intensely’extremely’extraordinarily’enormously’awfully second I took away that pressure, e grossly thing slotted into place.

That was what I d been doing wrong.

As a result, I had a smile on my chops the whole way round that 13.1 mile course. From crossing over the start line and heading into the Walt Disney Studios park, running in and out of all of the rides and appeal’tempt ions, seeing the characters lining up in/with regard to’concerning’regarding photos, admiring my fellow runner s costume exertion s, and the absolute pièce de résistance running right through the middle of Sleeping Beauty s castle!! If ever there was a time when I felt as if I d made it as a runner, in fact scrap that, a time when I felt as if I d officially made it in life, it s that moment when I emerged from the castle and the whole eye-catching’good-shaped’appealing’charming’fascinating’gorgeous , magical world of Disney appeared bein/with regard to’concerning’regarding e me.

It was breathtaking.

So this is what it felt like to enjoy running.

There were moments that were tough, I d be lying if I said there wasn t. The long stretch outside of the parks where there was nothing but endless stretches of open road and relentless blasts of wind made it feel as if the race would never end. And after my friend had to retire from the race at the halfway mark and I was left running on my own, I m not gonna lie it was mentally grossly challenging, especially as I was now surrounded by runners who I had previously overtaken. My hamstrings felt weak and the temptation to cover’budge was intense’fierce’exquisite , but I persevered. Whether through my own determination, or propel n by despite’in spite of’albeit ts of I m doing this in/with regard to’concerning’regarding Clare , I just kept running. And you know what even when I despite’in spite of’albeit t I had nothing left in me, even when eintensely’extremely’extraordinarily’enormously’awfullyone else around me was cover’budge ing, even when that voice in my head was screaming what the hell are you doing!!! I just kept running.

This time I felt so much more educated with regards to’concerning’with respect to pacing and I recognized when I should slow down, when I needed more energy and when to overtake individual or to hang back. I just generally felt way more in tune with my body and paying attention to what it was telling me. And I despite’in spite of’albeit t that the fact each km was marked by a massive token would be a problem, that I d be constantly counting down the distance and driving myself potty with it, but it wasn’t. Whereas last year I’d got to with regards to’concerning’with respect to the 16km mark and despite’in spite of’albeit t oh god there s still another 5k to go this time I was all, oh merely’barely 5km to go, that’s a piece of piss. Plus, and this is a huge plus, not a swear word or even the merest hint of a moan passed my lips during the Disney run, I mean that s a bloody miracle in itself!

Look, I’m still not 100% sure a half marathon is my all time favourite distance in the world, but this race has certainly transform’alter d my mind and I’m not utterly ruling out doing more in the future. However that being said, I reckon the dressing up bit helped immensely, cos well I’m just that kind of person. So maybe novelty runs are the way in/with regard to’concerning’regarding ward in/with regard to’concerning’regarding me, but in/with regard to’concerning’regarding now I m happy to go back to running 10k distances. Well, after the Great South Run next weekend that is . anyone got a Flapjack costume I could borrow 😉

Fancy running Disneyland Paris half marathon yourself?

I ve put toacquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure her my top tips and all those essential things you need to know bein/with regard to’concerning’regarding e token ing up to the Disneyland Paris half marathon run weekend. From how to reserve , the registration process, what to expect on race morning, right through to what the toilets are like . because that is soooooo significant’essential’critical’vital’crucial’indispensable’imperative !

You can find out more by clicking here Eintensely’extremely’extraordinarily’enormously’awfullything You Need To Know Bein/with regard to’concerning’regarding e Running The Disneyland Paris Half Marathon