DO OR DO NOT THERE IS NO TRY: STAR WARS DARK SIDE 5K/10K RECAP
1) this was my first time doing this particular weekend
2) this was my first time doing back to back races
3) the expo layout had changed YET AGAIN between this race and my last
all that aside I was ready and raring to go..
For Wine and Dine 2017 we arrived at the expo at around at about 11am ish and it wasn’t too chaotic this was the same case for us as we arrived closer to 1030am (the Expo had opened at 10am as like Wine and Dine and unlike the larger events of Marathon Weekend and Princess there isn’t any paid early access) We headed toward field house to get our bibs first…my friend who was running not only her first Disney race but first 5K in general had obviously been in F and I was again surprised that I was in D for both races I was doing (I really think for this and Wine and Dine I put 12-13 mins as my projected pace… I put 13-14 for Wine and Dine this year so it will be interesting to see if I’m just down to E or all the way back down to F…god I hope I’m in E….)
This year like I said the expo was yet again set up different and so while in November 2016 pre orders and a small selection of official merchandise was in Field House and in 17 pre orders and ALL merchandise in general was in Field House JUST BIBS were there and so we headed to the newest Wide World of Sports Complex building THE ARENA to get merchandise.
I did the pre-order pin/magnet set for both races and so I got the logo magnet, medal replica magnet and ear magnet for both races…I also got the bondi band though I was a bit sad that they just had half marathon weekend ones and not race specific and that for the general run Disney 2018 bands they just had sweaty bands in terms of headbands…
Also in the Arena there were a few photo ops with some Storm Troopers whom I didn’t wait for as well as a Jaba the Hut backdrop which I did…..
Finally we made it to the Visa Center (formerly Jolstens/J Center) to get shirts and look at vendors…some of the highlights was spinning a wheel at the Otterbox (the events main corporate sponsor) booth and getting a thing of sunscreen and the SOLO backdrop (okay sure it was just the set up you can pose with at local movie theaters but I was in the moment)
Unlike with Wine and Dine by the time we had left the expo we had yet to get a room ready text which was a shame as we were staying at Pop Century which is right next door to WWoS…oh well and so we headed to Disney Springs for a bit (where I got one of the RunDisney princess Alex and Ani bangles) before heading to the room.
We were in one of the few non renovated rooms (we were in Building 1 and half the building was being worked on but the construction for that/sky liner didn’t bother us which I was grateful for especially with the sleep schedule that was to come)
Again… like I said in my W&D reports this is a race run down not a trip report so I’ll just gloss over non race related items but if anyone actually reads this and has questions feel free to ask….
I’ve gotten into a routine with RunDisney weekends and so once again the alarm was set for 2am and we headed toward the bus area around ten till 3….buses were already lined up and while at first we were told we couldn’t get on them till 330 we were in fact loaded at 3 and pulled out around 325
For the 5K like ‘16’s Wine and Dine we were staged at Epcot and finished at Epcot meaning that we had to walk almost an additional mile JUST to get to bag check…which since I had a tote bag as a costume prop I had to zip through that…after check we took a quick stop at the port-o-lets before making our way toward the pre-coral area where there were SIX character lines as opposed to the FOUR from Wine and Dine….
Boba Fett, Darth Vader, Jaba the Hut, Captain Phasma, Kylo Ren and BB8….yea I know one of those things is not like the other but….
We got into the Boba Fett line and by 435 we saw how far back we were and knew we wouldn’t be meeting them in the next 10 minutes and we’d better cut our losses and head to the corals before the mad rush….As I was in the corals I made a tweet about how glad I was a podcast I listen to had updated cause it was a good way to pass the time and got this encouraging reply
At 5 o’clock the pre-show began where we were showed various star wars trailers, heard a word from our sponser otterbox as well as make a wish which was the charity sponcer. After a moment of silence for our fallen troops and first responders and the national anthem the race began
There were 23 mini waves and while I didn’t keep count this race what wave I was in we were ushered unto the starting shoot at around 542 and my wave went out around 555.
We started off by heading around the parameters of the parking lot and into some backstage areas where within the first mile we were greeted by a screen looping some clips…shortly after that there was a backdrop set up just before mile marker 1 with the emperors throne. The line didn’t look too long but 1) I couldn’t tell if it was photo pass or your own camera only and 2) I just wanted to get in the parks cause while I used a port-o-let earlier I kind of had to pee. My mile 1 split was 13:31 and after another 5 minutes I reached the Germany pavilion and made a pit stop. Just on the other side of the model train set in Italy sat R2D2…the line was insane and while I did start in wave D1 and this race was un timed I didn’t want to risk things cause the bathroom break sucked up time and I still had about half the race to go… I got to mile marker 2 with a split of 17:18 and as we rounded backstage through the skyliner construction area we were met with Chewie who again had an insane line and while I would of liked to of met him in costume (since I was dressed as a Newsie/Han Solo mash up) I knew I’d see him the following day at Launch Bay and so I pressed on pausing to take a picture in front of Spaceship Earth..
Some Troopers by the fountain view stage (non photopass) and some characters from one of the animated series by imagination… rounding backstage again just before mile marker 3 there were a bunch of local cosplayers with many selfie options…getting to mile 3 with a split of 16:26 I finished the race though for the first time ever in the now 19 5K’s I’ve run I suffered from what was called chub rub which was partly why my last two splits were so long (other parts included the pee stop eating time and lots of people casually strolling world showcase taking selfies with all the flower and garden topiaries)
There is no official time but my fitbit clocked me in with running 3.41 miles in 53:12 and an average pace of 15’35
After the race I managed to make it through the Captain Phasma photo opp as well as get in and succeed at meeting Boba Fett
Getting back to the Hotel on one of the last buses back from Epcot, I took a shower and then headed out to Magic Kingdom for a few hours and took a quick dip in the pool and then the following morning I got to do it again….
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I got up Saturday Morning and my legs were still raw from the chub rub or whatever but that didn’t stop me as I got up at 2am once more and headed toward the buses at around the same time… unlike with Friday the buses were not lined up and the Mears person that came out just before they did said runners need to take first priority boarding the first set of buses as it was a longer time to get to the Magic Kingdom staging area and if they got on the second set they would be pushing it for time….luckily I was on the first bus again as the pulled up and boarded at around 315 and left by 320….
I don’t know if it’s just the set up of the staging area or if a lot of people got photos at the 5K because by 355 I had not only gone through bag check but gotten a picture with Darth Vader and corals didn’t open until 415 ish and so since I was dressed as Kylo Ren I got in his line even though we planned on doing medal pictures with him at Launch Bay later in the day….
At about 425 I headed to my coral and once again at 5am the pre-show started although this time they stated there were 13 corals and this time I counted as they went off (I was in wave 7)
At 540 we funneled into the start shoot and at 548 I started to run
The course was the same as Wine and Dine was last year however I don’t know if it was just me but there was more energy it seemed…
During mile 1 there was a DJ set up as we rounded the corner by Speedway/The Car Care Center as well as a screen playing clips on the road…my mile 1 split was 14:10 and my mile 2 split was 15:46 there was nothing but road and a water stop in this streach though R2D2 was meeting right across the roadway from mile marker 2… another video screen greeted us as we reached mile marker 3 where my mile split was 15:54 the throne was across the roadway from the mile marker I reached the 5K point on the overpass with my split of 49:52 As we entered toward studios we were met with Darth Maul…a cosplay group by Hollywood Hills Ampatheater and the one non Star Wars piece of entertainment a Tower of Terror Bellhop lead us toward mile marker 4 where my split was 17:23 heading toward boardwalk there were a few speeders you could take pictures with and as we got to boardwalk I saw this sign which I loved
Passing mile marker 5 at a split of 16:16 I contuned to head toward the boardwalk when I came to the animated series characters again who had like 2 people in line much like when we passed Keni and Koda back during Wine and Dine… even though I had no clue who they were so there was no real interaction I hopped in to take a quick picture
Heading toward the construction area again like the day before a wild Wookie appeared… I just kept moving, making pause for another ball picture
And passing another group of cosplayers before making my way to mile marker 6 with a split of 16:54 and hitting the finish where via fitbit I ran 6.62 miles with a pace of 16’09 unofficially clocking in at 1:46:54 and an official time of 1:46:30
Since I did the Jaba Background at the Expo albeit without photopass and since I was doing BB8 at Launch Bay later I headed back to the hotel to cool down before hitting the parks…
All and all my 5K split while not a PR (not that I was expecting one) was less then yesterdays time while my overall time was only 2 minutes shy of a PR and had my thighs not been so raw and I ran/jogged more then simply speed walking I know I could of done it….
I left this weekend with the regret that I didn’t sign up for the 5K for Wine and Dine and more proof to myself that I think I could handle doing Lime Cactus during Gaspirialla come February ….
Next up is Mayfair….
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