2 Races in Less Than a Week: Knott's Berry Farm 10K and Wicked Wine Run!

Two races within one week. I definitely didn’t plan this but my boss offered me a free bib and I didn’t want to pass that up. And I’m in training for a half marathon anyway, so I would have been running regardless. And races are fun, so why wouldn’t I want to do two races within a week!

Knott’s Berry Farm 10K - Renegade Racing - March 8, 2015

I was really excited for this race for multiple reasons: 1. The medal featured Snoopy and Woodstock, 2. Running through an amusement park is always a good time, and 3. Tyler agreed to run with me again and he always makes races fun. The race was a good time but I gotta say the volunteers could have stepped it up a little bit.

I went down to Buena Park a day early to pick up Tyler and my race bibs. The website clearly said in order to pick up a bib for another person I needed a signed waiver from the participant as well as a copy or photo of the participant’s ID. Turns out I didn’t need any of this. The packet pickup was littered with blank waivers and a list of all the participants and their bib number was posted on the wall. So when I went up to pick up the bibs and all the volunteer asked for was my name, bib number, and a signed waiver without asking for any form of ID, I was a little upset. Anyone could have walked up, picked a name and bib number off the wall, forged a signature on a waiver, and picked up as many bibs as they wanted.

The volunteers were also lackadaisical when it came to checking bags, noses in their phones until we got their attention. Also, the bags were marked with flimsy tape that could have easily fallen off. Also, and this has nothing to do with the volunteers but was still an annoyance, timing was done by chips that we had to twist tie to our shoes and return at the end of the race before we could get our medals. If we lost the chip, be would be charged for losing it. Now, most timing chips are attached to the bibs so it was a stressful that I might have to pay if I lost it. Tyler and I picked up a lost chip along the course so that runner wouldn’t have to pay the fee.

But enough of that, on to the good parts! Tyler and I were treated to free massages before the race, and lined up in our corral. We were somehow in two different corrals even though we submitted the same pace time at registration and even though I was in corral 5 I had to drop back to 7 to run with Tyler. Eventually the corrals got all smushed together and we had the chance to start with corral 6, but Tyler didn’t want to cheat and we hung back until corral 7 started.

The start was signaled by an old-timey Westerner who shot a shotgun up in the air and we went

right into the park. The park was playing its usual park music, which was old-timey Western-y and highly featured a banjo. We ran through the coasters and soak city (which I wished was open so I could cool myself down in the water while making progress). It was fun and our energy was high. We even modified our intervals, running longer than three minutes before we took a walk break.

The course then took us on the roads of Buena Park which was nice though not anything too interesting. There was a strip of roads that I noticed that were named after the planets with the first row on the block called Planetary Road. The volunteers on the courses were great, putting their phones in the orange cones marking the course so that the music playing from them was amplified. They also gave out copious high fives. There was music at some points and Tyler discovered a song by The Cure that he enjoyed (“Close to Me”).

When we got to the six mile point, Tyler wanted to sprint the last .2 miles. I tried best I could but he was way faster than me. He did hang back and cross the finish line with me though and after we clipped our timing chips off our shoes we received our medals and got in a long line for the free boysenberry pie. The line went fast and we got our pie and sat and enjoyed it. We also enjoyed our free chocolate milks that we picked up at the expo before the race and Tyler carried during the whole run because I was worried all the free milk would be gone after the race (which it was). After getting some race photos, we took a stroll around the small expo and headed home.

It was a fun race, but I hope they tighten up the packet pick up. It wasn’t the cheapest race so it would really be a bummer if someone’s bib was picked up by another person. We had an incredible pace, 11:30/mile, and it felt really easy which gives me huge hope for improving my pace in the future and gaining some new PRs!

Wicked Wine Run 5K - Europa Village, Temecula, CA - March 14, 2015

So my boss offered me her bib for this run because she couldn’t make it anymore. When I found out how far away Temecula was I was hesitant but hey, I wasn’t doing anything and it was a free race so the distance wasn’t that weighty of an excuse. I made my way southeast to Temecula, enjoyed the beautiful mountainous drive, and arrived at Europa Village.

After a pretty hefty $15 parking fee (though I couldn’t complain too much because again the race was free) I parked, picked up Jena’s bib and enjoyed the hour and a half before the race start. The car was close enough that I was able to walk back and forth to it, dropping off some freebies I picked up at the small booths they had there. There were food trucks but I wasn’t going to fill my stomach with heavy food before running.

I spent most of my time in the winery’s courtyard before the race. It was HOT (90 degrees) and I was searching for as much shade as I could get. There was plenty in the courtyard and they were also misting water which was a great relief. I picked out a spot and sat in the shade and mist, drinking two full water bottles before the race even started.

About 15 minutes before the race I headed to the start line. I grabbed what little shade I could there but immediately regretted not bringing some sunscreen. People were slow to arrive to the start line so I got a great spot right up front in the first wave. And honestly, I probably needed it.

See, my sister had run her first 5k that morning in Ohio and she had finished with a time faster than any of the 5ks I had ever run. Granted, she is 14 and she’s got the more athletic genes, but still, I’m the runner in the family! I wanted to see if I could match or even beat her time. I wanted to increase my run/walk interval from 3 mins/1 min to 4 mins/1 min and I had a great time the previous week during the Knott’s 10K so I wanted to push myself.

This was NOT the course to do it on. There were nasty nasty hills, and hills set off my exertional asthma in the worst way. And even though I knew this, I pushed myself too hard on the very first hill and the rest of the race was super painful for me. I walked a LOT. There were numerous hills and even when there weren’t the heat and my asthma made running really hard. So not my best race. And I learned, once again, that I must WALK all hills. Otherwise, it makes for a terrible experience.

Luckily, the course was beautiful featuring expansive views of the mountain ranges while winding the the winery’s vineyards. I didn’t end up with too terrible a pace, 11:55/mile, and I did get a free glass of wine at the end, though I had to wait to cool down and catch my breath before I could drink it. The winery was a wonderful place to relax after the run; there was a live band playing and friends were enjoying bottles of wine (which made me start planning on coming back with friends in the future). I stayed and took it all in for about an hour after I finished before heading home. And after snapping a few pictures of the sunset, I bid ado to the pleasure and the pain that was the Wicked Wine Run.

Star Wars 10K: Fireworkin' for the Weekend

Notable costumes:

Star Tours ship with R2D2 pilot

Jar Jar Binks

Cute Ewok hats

Barf

Fast Pass Tickets

Hoth Leia

Admiral Ackbar

Have you ever lived in a war zone? Well, it felt like one last night in our hotel room. Apparently, the fireworks (which you can “see from the pool area” according to Kevin the front desk guy) are launched right next to our hotel. It sounded like the building next to us was getting bombed. Tyler mentioned that he was glad I wasn’t asleep because I probably would have woken up screaming.

The fireworks ended pretty quickly and it was time for sleep! 3:30am came bright and early and we were up, but not with as much gusto as Friday. We got dressed and ready and headed over to the race. It was colder today for me as I was not covered in fur.

We headed straight for the corrals again since we were in E, the last corral. I was sad to see that E did not get the same pleasures as B: no speakers, no big video screen to show the announcers. We huddled together in the quiet and cold for about 40 minutes before we started shuffling up to the front. It was a long walk to that start line.

Like the day before, R2D2, C3PO and the race announcers started us off! I think we were closer to the stage this day because we passed right by the droids and it felt like they were really there with us.

Then started the endless dodging. It was so crowded and no one was paying attention to the fact that there were runners or that it might be courteous to NOT walk 5 across. We started on the road and that was difficult because we were constantly dodging the little reflectors in the road. Then we got into the park and we were dodging people. It felt like people took up the whole middle of the course to walk and runners had to try and squeeze by on the sides.

But we got through it and it was a GREAT course! I was unlucky/lucky enough to have to go to the bathroom part of the way through. I knew I wasn’t stopping at the first, second, or third restrooms because these all had LONG lines. But right as we came into California Adventure, I was able to experience what it was like walking right into a top of the line Disney park bathroom, immediately doing my business, and getting back on my way. It was glorious and I wish all race bathrooms were like this.

Disney had a great written message going on their marque encouraging runners that the force was with us. We got a new version of the “sharp turn ahead” message warning us that the road was dividing ahead (which we didn’t notice). Lots of people were jumping into empty ride cars, even in the backlot, to take pictures. It was pretty cool getting to go into areas marked “Cast Members Only” and experience what the backlot of Disney was like. There was a building for every little thing, and even cafes for the employees to dine at. We somehow smelled spaghetti somewhere along the way. The water stops came right when I needed them and the volunteers were great about cheering us on, using a choreographed cheer to do so.

I really enjoying running in my Queen Amidala costume, or as one of the third shift janitors called out, my “Princess Amidala” costume. I got a lot of great comments on it from other runners :) It was really a treat to run in. Though there weren’t as many photographers (and it was hard to get a picture sometimes because of how crowded it was) so I hope I get at least one good picture of me in this costume.

The run was really easy and was a super quick 6.2 miles and we kept a pretty consistent 12:00/mile pace. We leisurely crossed the finish, after some stormtroopers noticed me and gestured with their guns to move along. We got our medals and pictures and I stopped at the medical tent where a very nice man from the Florida hospital wrapped my knee in ice. It was a long walk back to the hotel because of this because I couldn’t bend my knee!

Back to the hotel, where I grabbed breakfast still in costume. Tyler took a nap while I showered. When Tyler woke up his legs hurt bad so I suggested an ice bath. He was a baby about it. I filled up one of our runDisney bags at the hotel ice machine and forced Tyler to sit in the cold water for 20 minutes. He moaned and groaned but got through it and felt a lot better afterwards.

Then we walked back over to the expo to stroll around again and take pictures with our two medals. Tyler made a purchase at the merchandise store. When we entered the register area a woman stopped us and asked our names. “Tyler and Kristyne,” we offered, and the woman turns around and announces “Tyler and Kristyne finished the race!” All the cashiers clapped and cheered for us which was so surprising and felt so good. We left with huge smiles on our faces. Then we had lunch, complete with beverages in Stormtrooper mugs, at ESPNZone where we got 15% off our bill for running the races.

Back to the hotel for a nap, then off to dinner with Jena and some TNT people at Marri’s Italian restaurant. Dinner was a lot of fun. We talked about this race, past races, and future races and all the experiences that came along with them. Jena and a couple others had just finished the Dopey Challenge a week before in Florida (5K, 10K, Half and Full Marathons) and they were relating all their stories. I met a couple new friends from DC that had run the Dopey challenge with them.

We’re planning on catching the fireworks in the hot tub tonight and then re-tape some KT Tape, and then off to bed. It’s 8:19pm and all the clothes are already set out and ready to go. One more race left!

Star Wars Half Marathon: "That's No Moon, That's a...Sandwich?!?"

So this reflection is written almost a month after the race. I was too exhausted to reflect the day of and I knew this would be a big task so I ended up putting it off for a while. I’m looking at pictures to try and remember everything but I can’t promise there won’t be memory holes at this point. I will do my best!

Memorable costumes:

The Star Wars Galaxy

Space Pigs

Female Luke on a Puppet Tauntaun (spectator)

The half marathon was finally upon us. From what I remember, it was the hardest day to wake up. But we were in Corral E again and needed to be at the front so we were once again up at 3:30am. For the past couple of days I had been hoping to get my picture on the RunDisney Facebook page; they post pictures of people in good costumes and a couple of my friends got their pictures up there and I was hoping the half marathon would be the day I would get my picture on the page. Tyler speculated that it was because I was in costume but he wasn’t. So he agreed to wear my Chewbacca hat to increase our RunDisney Facebook chances. (We didn’t make it on, but the sentiment was touching).

We walked to the corrals. Tyler checked a bag with an extra shirt to change into so he could remove his sweaty shirt immediately after the race. It was another cold morning...and I think I was suffering the most this morning. I think it was because we could see the end at this point that everything became slightly worse. The finish line was in sight and we were ready to get there…but we had to wait to start and we were impatient.

But finally we did start! We crossed the starting line just past 6am and were on our way to be half marathon finishers. Again, I had to pee. I wanted to wait to use the spectacular Disney bathrooms but when I saw the line to the port-a-potties was non-existent I couldn’t resist. It was getting pretty painful and annoying trying to hold it in. It was an interesting experience because it was still dark out and there was no lighting around the toilets so I had to use the flashlight on my phone. AND, in trying to figure out the lighting situation, I forgot to lock the door though and someone opened it on me! Oh well, it felt SO good to relieve myself and I was ready to rock and roll.

The course through the park was similar to the previous two days, but the crowds were much larger. And a lot of them were walking. It was very tough getting around the walkers in the park and at times, Tyler and I were forced to walk because there was no way to get around them. I even heard stories of people wiping out trying to get around the walkers. I was looking forward to getting onto to the wide roads in the latter part of the course.

But running through the park was still an incredible experience. The sunrise was stunning! And being able to watch it come over the Disney attractions was breathtaking. The rocket in Tomorrowland almost looked like it was about to take off! The photo ops were endless. The most characters were out this day; Luke and Leia and the Gammorean guard were a fun addition! But the lines were long once again, and we wanted to finish with a good pace. We did, however, get to take a professional picture in front of the castle since the line was only three people deep. And we took a nice selfie in front of the Mickey Ferris wheel.  I was happy we got to do that.

We passed Jena and friends at mile 3. They started up in corral D and took their time as this was not their first Disney race. They were taking a photo with the very cool mile 3 mile marker; all the mile markers were lit with colored lights and decorated with lightsabers. Jena and her friends took LOADS of pictures and finished almost last and made sure to stop at every mile marker for a pic. Sounds like fun, but again, we wanted that good pace and finish time.

After mile 4, we were finally out on the roads…and so were the spectators! I was so happy to see how many people came out to cheer on the runners! It gave me a huge boost. It was around this point that I realized we still had 9 miles to go. That’s no short distance. I started focusing on relaxing into the run, breathing, keeping my shoulders loose, and keeping the speed light, easy, and consistent.

I was worried that once we were out of the park, the run would get harder. There would no longer be fun Disney things to enjoy and we would just be seeing the boring city of Anaheim. When there are attractions to distract you, the run is easy. The less there is to look at, however, the more you (or I at least) focus on the fact that I’m running, which gets into my head and stresses me out. But there was no need to be worried as there was never a shortage of people cheering us on.

I don’t know how many high school marching bands/cheerleaders came to support us but it seemed like every school in the Anaheim area sent their kids out to play/cheer for us. There were people holding out clever Star Wars signs, people dressed as Star Wars characters cheering us on, and even a Chewbacca giving out “Free Hugs” (I didn’t indulge as he looked like one of those dirty Hollywood Blvd performers…be he was a hit with most of the other runners).

The miles flew by and suddenly we were at mile seven, more than half way through the race. I don’t think it would have felt as fast without the bands, cheerleaders, and spectators, so they were truly a blessing to me. There was a street called “Newhope St.” that we passed which I thought was super clever and I wondered if this was an intentional addition to the course. Since Tyler sweats profusely, he brought a second shirt and changed at the halfway mark. Back into the race the marching bands were still lined out on the side of the road and I don’t think we saw our last band until mile 8 or 9.

A real treat along the course was the presence of the 501st. The 501st is a Star Wars cosplay group that specialize in making their Star Wars costumes as accurate as possible to the movies…and then some people put their own personal twist on the costumes. This was definitely THE place for photo ops. Tyler and I took a Stormtrooper selfie, but again, I couldn’t justify waiting in line for pictures. And boy, were there lines. I mean, the costumes were just incredible. There was one in particular that I loved but the line was long. It was a woman dressed up as Queen Amidala, in the black dress with the feathered headdress. It was amazing. I took pictures as we past her.

We kept on running, down a cute little cobblestone street at one point where Elvis was outside a bar cheering for us, and let our feet carry us onward. Around mile 10 I felt that familiar twinge in my knees, the one where they say, “Hey Kristyne, how bout we don’t run anymore, ok?” I was worried. We were at mile 10 and if I had to stop running at this point I would be devastated. I was determined to finish the race running. I had crossed the finish line walking at the LA Marathon and to cross the line running was the achievement I was hoping for with this race.

I told Tyler how I was feeling and he suggested we walk one of our 3 minute run intervals and asses how I felt afterwards. We did that and after 5 walking minutes tried another 3 minute run. The knees were tired but I didn’t feel the pain. I felt ok to continue running and our mantra became “Only a 5K to go.” I could run a 5K no problem. It was here that we ran into the guy we met at the photo line the day before. It was so great to run into him! We chatted for a bit, wished each other luck with the remainder of the race and he took off. We kept an easy but consistent pace and didn’t try to over exert ourselves. 3 miles was still 3 miles. There was also a couple dressed as stormtroopers running close to us and we joked we were chasing each other in an action sequence (since I was dressed as a rebel pilot).

The cleverest signs were on this last stretch of the run. “Stay on target,” “Do it for Alderaan,” and “Stop, and we can rule the galaxy together,” were some of the best I saw. I saw an advertisement for “Fresh Off the Boat,” and just had to take a picture with it because it was so weird to be seeing Constance everywhere, even down here in Anaheim while running the Star Wars races. Constance was a main actress in the web series "EastSiders," which I produced. Tyler had hooked my Chewbacca hat around his belt and I noticed that it looked like he had somehow killed and scalped Chewbacca and was wearing the scalp like an American Indian.

The bands were back for the last two miles and around this time Tyler and I realized that we could possibly finish before 9am. We made this our goal, and this desire carried us to the end. We turned down a street lined with the most magnificent palm trees. We were so happy to be close to the end. Tyler requested that we listen to the gummy bear theme song to give us that extra final push. We also listened to the Batman theme song and the Duck Tales theme song somewhere earlier in the race for some extra energy but I forget when that happened.

Another thing Tyler did throughout the race was recite Star Wars quotes. Only, he would change one of the words to “sandwich.” So “That’s no moon, that’s a space station,” became “That’s no moon, that’s a sandwich.” And “these aren’t the droids you’re looking for,” became “these are the sandwiches you’re looking for.” He never explained to me the reasoning behind it, but I never got tired of laughing at him. I think my amusement increased his energy some. I’d like to think so anyway.

Back to the race...with a cheer from a simultaneously awful and amazing blow up Jabba the Hutt costumer, we turned the corner into Disneyland. We were almost there and 9am was quickly approaching. We were going to finish before 9am! There were tons of employees and volunteers reminding us that we were almost there. We came down the final stretch, and were greeted by R2D2, C3PO, Jedi Mickey, Leia Minnie, and Goofy Darth Vader. And we crossed the finish line at 8:59am! Total race time was 2 hrs 53 min, and total run time was 2 hrs 47 min (total time minus the small breaks we took).

We got our medals for the half marathon, were shuffled over to the rebel challenge tent to get our medals, took some pictures (including one in which Tyler made peace signs with his fingers in an attempt to look like an Asian tourist) and stopped at the medical tent where I wrapped both my knees in ice. I carried the four medals Tyler and I had gotten for the 5K and the 10K in my belt during the run so that we could take pictures with all the medals at the finish. We got our snacks, picked up Tyler’s shirt, and headed back to the hotel for breakfast and nap time.

We took a quick sleep and then catch the football games and a bite and “that’s no moon” drink at ESPNZone. Our nap lasted longer than expected and we barely caught the end of the Green Bay/Seahawks game. We got dressed and headed out to ESPNZone. I finally got to wear my Star Wars Marathon Weekend jacket (I was holding out until we actually completed all the races). The medals made a LOT of noise when we wore them together, and I was worried they would scratch each other so Tyler and I each chose one to wear so we could get our meal discount. Tyler chose the Rebel Challenge medal and I chose the Half Marathon medal, which, to my surprise, was my favorite. I think it’s my favorite because it’s gold. I felt so accomplished and so happy.

We got to ESPNZone right as the Colts/Patriots game started and the place was PACKED. We ended up sitting upstairs in the arcade where there was family/picnic style seating where they were serving a limited BBQ type menu. We did get to watch the game on a huge projector screen which was fun and we did get our “That’s No Moon” drinks…but they ran out of Death Star glow cubes! They gave us regular light cubes which we totally took home and I will keep them as a reminder of the Death Stars we didn’t get. It was ok. If we had drunken alcohol earlier, it probably would have made the run harder.

I then hunted down a churro ice cream sandwich, which was sticky, and Tyler indulged me with a walk around the World of Disney store…a store that I absolutely love. It was time to go back to the hotel and rest/catch the fireworks show.

The next day we woke up, Tyler went for a brief swim (which the front desk opened the pool early for), packed, and headed out (the front desk also offered us breakfast after they had put it away…they were so nice!). We headed to lunch at Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles (which we saw on our run the day before and planned to go to for lunch) ate an amazing breakfast and headed home. I was on cloud 9 the whole weekend and I was so sad it was ending. I was immediately thinking of how I could afford the next Disney run. It was a great experience and I hope that I can run next year’s Star Wars race and other Disney races in the future!