I'm back!

Hello everyone! I'm back!!

It's just a little over a month since my family and I conquered our first marathon! I'm still processing everything that happened. It still hasn't sunk in that I did it. But I can now say I'm officially a marathoner!

Reflecting back, there are a few things that stand out. First off, I love my family. I love how we navigate traveling challenges, hotel room situations (my brother ended up sleeping in the kitchenette on a blow up mattress!) app glitches and logistics issues. I wouldn't say this was our smoothest trip to Disney, but I certainly had so much fun!

I would say that my family is just out of practice in going to Disney (It had been eight years since our last trip!). Then, add in the new magic bands and our whole method of touring the parks just simply didn't work. We used to rule the fastpass kiosks, had an order to which rides to go on in order to reduce wait times and we used to nap in the afternoons when things were the most crowded. With having to fit in the expo, the new fastpass + system constantly glitching, and running, we were basically doing the opposite of we were used to. I think this caught me off guard a ton. I was constantly trying to figure out what the best thing to do as far as touring the parks was while learning a new system on the fly.

I'd also say, the marathon had us worried for a good portion of the vacation. We had to tour the parks before the marathon if my brother wanted to do any of Disney (boo college!). This had us logging several miles walking when we should have been resting before the marathon. I don't suggest this! We were constantly battling enjoying the theme parks with trying to conserve energy. While I'm used to being on my feet all day, it was still taking a toll. Our feet hurt just standing waiting for the race to start.

Yet, all the bad things aside, I love that my family made the most of it. We LOVE roller coasters and riding our favorites again as a family made this trip so much fun! We even had a poncho day! It was so amazing to watch my family bond and hang out together and made my heart so happy!

Then there was the marathon! I was fighting back tears before the race even began. I couldn't believe I had made it to the start line! Jared and I ran the whole race together! We took it nice and slow, enjoying the sights, running together and taking pictures. One thing that bugged me for a while was that I didn't make it to the finish line at my 5 hour goal mark. What was the point of all that training if I didn't make it? But when I sat back and thought about it, I realized that I traded that goal in order to have the fun with my family in the parks before hand and enjoy the race with my husband during. No hour on a time is worth the memories that came with the rest of the vacation!

So all in all, it was a great vacation. I loved spending time with my family. I loved it that we accomplished a ginormous feat! I loved wearing our shiny medals around the parks after and most of all, I loved the season of life.

Check out Jared and I's race here!