Charging My Princess Batteries

Me and My Princesses!

      Another Disney's Princess Half Marathon Weekend has come and gone. Once again, this weekend is my all-time favorite of the runDisney races. I love this race for so many reasons but the main reason is because I get to spend the weekend with all of my girlfriends. We laugh, we shop, we play and oh yeah, we RUN!!

     I could run races anywhere and all over the country...and I do. However, there is just something about running at the Happiest Place on Earth that brings together friends like no place else!  I run with my Mom and my sis, my running buddy, my friends from home, friends that I only see when I run Disney, friends that I've never met in person before and new friends that I meet along the way!

      I come home with so many stories, jokes and things to tell the hubby. All of which he has no idea of what I'm talking about and probably doesn't care either. That's totally okay with me.  It's my time. He doesn't have to "get it".

      Every Mom deserves this time and they deserve it multiple times a year. I catch ALOT of flack for it from other Moms that I know and I have this to say..."If you don't schedule that time with your friends and have some ME time, no one else with do that for you. AND IT'S OKAY." If you've read my posts before, you know that I cherish this time with my own sister and Mom. Seriously, everyone needs that kind of time.

Starting the Half with Grandmary and B!

At the start line of the Royal Family 5K with Grandmary!

     I arrived in Orlando with my girls late Thursday night. I would normally come earlier but Thursday was my little boy's birthday and I had things to do with him that day. Talk about "Mom guilt". Go to Disney World on your boys' birthday...that will put some guilt on your plate for sure. Again, I wrestled with this. I struggled. Not going to lie. With runDisney adding in the new 10K, that backed up the weekend by at least a day. I ended up doing a few things before I left so he wasn't too too mad at me. :(  Next year I'm probably not going to be able to run all of the races during that weekend. His birthday falls on that Friday so I'm already planning on the year that his birthday falls on the actual day of the half, that will just HAVE to be a family trip. I'm not planning on missing Princess but I'm not planning on missing my boy's birthday either. I know it's silly and in the big scheme of life, it doesn't really matter if I miss Princess or not but it DOES matter if I miss his birthday. It's a win/win if we go as a family for a run trip!

     Honestly, if these are the worst of my problems, I consider myself to be the most blessed Mama around. I love my kids and I want to be the best Mama to them which is why I take the time to recharge my batteries. It just so happens that my favorite "charging station" is at Walt Disney World. My kiddos know it runs deep with me therefore,

we are all on the same Disney page at Long Casa. :)

  Back to the Princess talk.  How could I not love a race where glitter and tiaras are a must?!?!  

Glitter everywhere!!

     This half is basically the same course as the Walt Disney World Half Marathon but with a totally different vibe. It's all girly with everything from the expo to the merchandise...this weekend is fit for a Princess. I'm really not the tiara-wearing type but for Princess weekend. Yeah. I'll go there.

Starting the Half with my sis!

     I ran the Glass Slipper Challenge this year. It was FABULOUS!!! 5K, 10K and Half Marathon. Some of my friends ran all of the races and some of them only ran one race. That's also what I love about this weekend...we all run our own race but eventually catch up after the races and spend time together!

     As I said before, I will be back to run Princess next year. If you need a great girls' getaway where it's okay to be frilly, girly and have the most magical time with your friends, book your trip right away!

This trip is on our calendar already for 2015...Let the wardrobe planning begin!

**Registration for the 2015 Princess Half Marathon Weekend opens July 15th at noon! Don't be late!

Happy Running and hope to see you at the Castle!

Me and Vallie flying out! Orlando Bound!

I got to hang out with my two friends, Jenn and Tracy...so great to see them!

Ran 22.4 miles with my favorite Canadian!

LOVED hanging out with this girl all weekend. NEVER a dull moment. NEVER.

Playing in parks with Rebekah, Heather, Jess, Grandmary, Brooke and Makenzie!

And then there were four....
We started out 6 years ago with 6 of us running this race.
I hope to keep running it for a long time....To infinity and Beyond! LOL!!

We made it to the expo Friday and got some Princess love from Minnie!

Meeting up to get on the bus to go run the 10K!
Getting there is half of the fun!
Grandmary, Heather, Rebekah, Diane, Brandy, SusieQ, Jessica, Me and Makenzie!

I love seeing Susan and Carrie...wished we lived closer!

This is where we hit the Princess Wall....Good times with the Sweet Heather!

Finished another race with SusieQ...I ran my first Half with her. :)))

Had so much waking up three mornings with this chick.

Dinner with Jindy....we could talk all night!!
Crazy glad to have this girl in my life!

I love my MsPrincessLeigh!!!!

Wanna go run 71 miles at Walt Disney World this year and then go play in the Parks??
YESSSSSSSSS!!!!!

Magic Kingdom time!

Enchanted 10K finishers!

Pefect Sisters! We've ran this race 6 years now!

Loved hanging out with Victoria in Epcot!
I only get to see her during runDisney events but I'm so glad I do!

The fun doesn't just happen in Disney World, we met these Princesses
on our flight back to Birmingham and instantly we became Princess Friends...love it!