Our first "Welcome Home" and 26.2 miles About This Page:

[disney_duke]

Ok, I'm getting that pie for dinner next time. That looked delicious!

I'm impressed that you use ice for your ice bath. Yowsers, that's gotta be cold! I'm freezing just using the cold tap water!

[BelmontBelle]

Yay, I made it in your TR!! Danell and I had a great time visiting with you, Rick and your friends, thank you for inviting us!

[BelmontBelle]

Originally Posted by disney_duke

I'm impressed that you use ice for your ice bath. Yowsers, that's gotta be cold! I'm freezing just using the cold tap water!

Danell took an ice bath too, I fetched her 2 buckets full of ice and was cold just thinking about her getting in that water .

[deerislemom]

Great trip report! Thank you for sharing. Congratulations on the marathon!

[Amy L]

Congratulations on your great finish!! I have learned many new things about the RunDisney races from your TR that I did not know about, despite running in 2 of them, thank you!

[Cam22]

Glad you finally made it back! Sometimes bus travel at WDW is a bit iffy. Dinner looks very delicious, too.

[mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince]

Originally Posted by chezp

Glad you had such a good dinner - you thoroughly deserved it!

Thanks, Cheryl!

Originally Posted by lauriep

Glad you finally made it back to the resort. Frustrating to be so close and not allowed in the gate! Sounds like a lovely, relaxing meal. I love that veggie pie!

Oh, me, too! It was delicious!

Originally Posted by disney_duke

Ok, I'm getting that pie for dinner next time. That looked delicious!

I'm impressed that you use ice for your ice bath. Yowsers, that's gotta be cold! I'm freezing just using the cold tap water!

I knew I'd crossed over into new territory one day after a long run when I opened the freezer and said, "Oh, goody, lots of ice!"

Originally Posted by BelmontBelle

Yay, I made it in your TR!! Danell and I had a great time visiting with you, Rick and your friends, thank you for inviting us!

I'm so glad you could join us, Lisa!

Originally Posted by deerislemom

Great trip report! Thank you for sharing. Congratulations on the marathon!

Originally Posted by Amy L

Congratulations on your great finish!! I have learned many new things about the RunDisney races from your TR that I did not know about, despite running in 2 of them, thank you!

I learn new things every time I run a Disney race!

Originally Posted by Cam22

Glad you finally made it back! Sometimes bus travel at WDW is a bit iffy. Dinner looks very delicious, too.

I checked the time on my photos, and it didn't take that long to get back to the room, but it sure FELT like it did!

[pamcarey]

Oh my, I can't imagine taking an ice bath. But I'm sure it felt good after running a marathon!

[mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince]

Originally Posted by pamcarey

Oh my, I can't imagine taking an ice bath. But I'm sure it felt good after running a marathon!

It definitely takes some getting used to!!!

[KMB733]

Glad you finally made it back to the resort! Dinner looked delicious!!

[shazza]

Yes, you deserved a nice dinner and meet-up with friends!

[lsugirlinutah]

Catching up!!

Yay, you finished!! And you finished faster! That's awesome.

I loved the RR, too. I think the best part was just being able to quickly refuel (not having to wait in lines for the buses to get to a restaurant), and sit down for a minute. If I go back, I'll definitely do this again. And how funny that you met your husband's running mate. It is a small world, after all...

What a great dinner with friends after the race. I'm sure you were completely exhausted! So glad you got to relax with friends and have a delicious and entertaining dinner.

[mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince]

Originally Posted by KMB733

Glad you finally made it back to the resort! Dinner looked delicious!!

It was! Can't wait to go back to Rose & Crown!

Originally Posted by shazza

Yes, you deserved a nice dinner and meet-up with friends!

It was a lovely way to celebrate our accomplishment!

Originally Posted by lsugirlinutah

Catching up!!

Yay, you finished!! And you finished faster! That's awesome.

I loved the RR, too. I think the best part was just being able to quickly refuel (not having to wait in lines for the buses to get to a restaurant), and sit down for a minute. If I go back, I'll definitely do this again. And how funny that you met your husband's running mate. It is a small world, after all...

What a great dinner with friends after the race. I'm sure you were completely exhausted! So glad you got to relax with friends and have a delicious and entertaining dinner.

I wasn't terribly tired, but my legs were hurting, that's for sure!

[mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince]

So, after dinner, we were able to catch up with our team right outside of the Rose & Crown pub. We shared stories and heard how everybody's races had gone. I am very glad to be a part of this team!


Afterwards, Elisa wanted to go across the street to see who we could find hanging out in the character spot. There was only one family ahead of us when we got over there, but then Pooh and Tigger had to take little break, so we had time to do a little shopping.

During last year's marathon weekend, my daughter and I spent some time chatting with the Cast Member about how it wasn't a real representation of the UK if they didn't have any Doctor Who merchandise. Well, guess what we found this year???






So excited! Of course, we didn't buy anything, because this is nothing that we can't find at a local store or from thinkgeek.com...BUT we were very happy to see this change.

After our meet and greet, we could hear the British band out in the courtyard, so we headed out for a little music. I got a text from Tanya that she was just finishing dessert, so we made plans to meet up for a FAB. DH and the rest of the gang declined to go with me, so I made my way to France.





We only had a little bit of time to visit; Tanya was feeling the effects of three early mornings and two big races, so they left not long after. We said good-bye, not knowing when we'd be seeing each other again, but as it turned out, we had lunch today! Her middle daughter had a gymnastics meet about a half hour away from me, so we got to visit for a couple of hours!

I hadn't heard from DH or my friends, so I started back towards the UK. Turns out, the band finished their set after I left, so they were on their way to France! We met back up and continued on to find a spot in Germany to get ready for Illuminations.

Back at home, while looking at the pictures from Photopass, I noticed a photo of Elisa, Dave, Katrina and my DH on the bridge between the UK and France. I thought, "Wait, where was I???" and then I remembered and laughed that they'd taken a photo without me. Katrina's husband had gone back to the resort, because their son wasn't feeling well, so DH stood in for him. Or did Katrina stand in for me?

Even though we'd had a big dinner, I was hungry for something but I couldn't quite decide what it was. What I really wanted was a margarita, but I didn't want to walk all the way to Mexico to get one. When we got to Italy, we passed by the gelato stand. Suddenly, I decided that I had to have gelato! I decided on a gelato cookie sandwich. It was not as good as I thought it would be.


We met up with my BFF in Germany, but we still had some time to kill, so she and her family went to ride Maelstrom. We found a spot on a bench to wait, but there weren't enough spots for everybody, so we had to split up. Katrina, Elisa and Dave sat down on one bench, and DH and I sat down at another bench across the way. Since DH and Elisa's husband, Dave, got along really well, he and I swapped places so the boys could talk and the girls could, too.

There was a man on the other end of our bench who tapped me on the shoulder when I sat down and told me that his wife would be back any minute and I couldn't stay. I told him that I wasn't planning on staying and I would give up the seat when she returned. Elisa told me later that the woman never came back.

When my BFF returned, Dave and I swapped seats again so the families could stay together. We all enjoyed Illuminations - my favorite fireworks show! - and said goodbye until the next day. We bypassed the boat dock and walked back to the Boardwalk. We packed most of our things up, because we'd be checking out the next morning. I set the alarm for about 6:30; we had an early breakfast ADR at Kona Cafe and a few hours at MK before heading home!

Up next: our last day

[lauriep]

Great to meet up with your running team and then have a drink with Tanya. Epcot is perfect for celebrations like this.