Princess Tracie

I've been telling Kyle for years that I'm a princess, but now it's finally official ... and I even have the medal to prove it! Please note the words "Princess Tracie" on my race bib. :)

Last weekend, I flew to Orlando to spend a couple days in Disney World with some friends and run a half marathon through the parks ... our twisted idea of a good time. This is the same friend I ran my first half marathon with in Columbus, Ohio back in 2007. You'd think I would have learned not to listen to her by now.

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Here's my princess pose in front of my ... I mean Cinderella's ... castle when I'm a little more cleaned up the day before the race.

Here we are playing in the parks ... just like the good old days! Kyle doesn't understand my Disney infatuation ... but, as I've told him, you can't fully appreciate Disney World unless you have the nostalgic connection from visits as a kid. And I was lucky enough to go several times growing up, thanks to a big ol' family road trip in the conversion van and a well-traveled Aunt that also shares an affinity for Disney.

Here are Beth and I posing in "fake Italy" at Epcot Center. We will be recreating the real thing on our Europe trip next month ... stay tuned.

Sorry, Beth ... I just have to post this one ... because I don't think I ever laughed so hard. Walking through the Magic Kingdom, our dear friend Beth was pooped on by a bird! What are the odds?!?! Her sweet cousin Becky ran for napkins while her evil friend Tracie laughed her ass off and took pictures. Hey - I'm fully committed to my blog readers and had to document the event, right?!?!

As I mentioned before ... Beth, Becky and I sort of have a twisted idea of fun. We actually paid good money to wake up at 3am, stand for over 2 hours in the cold and run 13.1 miles through Disney World with 11,000 of our closest friends. If you called me insane, I wouldn't argue.

We do look pretty good for 4am, don't we? With the cute little princess t-shirts Beth made for us to run in. Much tamer costumes than most runners with tiara's and tutu's.

Poor Becky trying to stay warm in her shorts!

Running with the mobs into Magic Kingdom ... the sun finally came up!

I've never been good at taking my own picture, but here I am about to run through the castle.

I made a quick stop to pose with Cap'n Jack Sparrow ... they had characters all along the course. Can't say he was my number one choice, but he didn't have a line when I was running by.

Success! Here we are with our fellow Princess, Ariel.

I finished without walking (my main goal) and my time was even slightly faster than my half marathon in 2007. Just under 2 hours and 15 minutes. You're jealous. :)

There was a time when I set a goal to run a marathon by the time I turned 30. After the pain of the last few miles ... I've decided that two half marathons equal a whole, right?!?