My husband and I took that day off of work so that we could have plenty of time to check into our hotel and explore the Expo. We planned to have an earlier start but ended up spending the morning finishing packing and taking it easy. I was still not feeling that great so the extra rest was helpful. We live close to Disneyland but had booked a room at the Hilton so that we wouldn't have to deal with driving and finding parking on the morning of the race.
We went over to the Hilton in the afternoon and checked in. We hadn't stayed at the Hilton before but I must say we were both very happy with our experience! The lobby there is big and fancy looking and I'm a fan of their lounge.
 |
| Hilton Lobby |
 |
| Mix Lounge at the Hilton |
 |
| Our room |
 |
| View from the room |
We have no complaints except for their parking garage. The garage was crowded and when we left, the staff at the front desk told us we wouldn't need our parking ticket but then the staff at the parking gate told us we did. Despite the parking confusion it was great! We would definitely stay there again.
After taking a quick break to cool off (it was crazy hot outside), we headed toward Paradise Pier Hotel. My friend Mindy was staying there and we were going to meet her so we could all go to the Expo together. It turned out that her room had been upgraded to an amazing suite (hurray for pixie dust!) so we went up to take a look!
 |
| Party at Mindy's! |
After admiring the suite we went to the Disneyland Hotel so we could pick up our race packets!
My husband and I found the booth for 10k participants and picked up our packets there. I had heard there was a long line earlier but we got there at a good time because there was no wait at all!
After that we headed over to the Health and Fitness Expo!
We picked up our shirts first before visiting the other booths. Here's what they looked like!
There were a lot of booths there to visit! It was interesting to walk around and see what was there.
We spent most our time at the New Balance area trying on their special runDisney shoes. My husband and I like that they have Mickey or Minnie on them! Unfortunately they didn't have my size in the Minnie or the Mickey shoes but my husband lucked out and was able to get some Mickey ones! I continued to look at the other shoes and found some I really liked that felt great on my feet. I had injured my foot early this year when we started training and ended up getting shoes that were great while my foot was healing but not so great once it was better. I was eager for new shoes so I bought a new pair I found at the Expo! I don't recommend buying new shoes and running in them before breaking them in but I liked these New Balance ones so much that I went for it and felt fine at the end of the 10k! The shoes were definitely an impulse buy and unplanned but I had no regrets! I love our new shoes!
 |
| My husband's Mickey shoes are in the front. My shoes are right behind them! |
 |
| A closer look at my hubby's shoes. Mickey helps you fun faster! |
After that I walked around more with my friends and hubby and they helped me find a headband to wear the next day. We stopped by the Steakhouse 55 lounge for dinner and then my husband and I went back to the Hilton.
I had not been nervous at all about the 10k but on the night before it, all kinds of nervousness hit me hard. Despite my goal to go to bed early, I went to bed late and once I was in bed I did NOT sleep at all. I literally was up all night tossing and turning. I finally fell asleep for about an hour during which I had a nightmare anyway. I was happy when it finally was time to get up and get ready! The night was rough- in fact I think the night before the 10k felt worse than the actual 10k itself!
My next post will be all about my 10k experience!
In case you missed it, here's part 1 of this recap:
Disneyland 10k 2013- Part 1- The Days Before!
It was fun to relive this day through your post! Those Mickey shoes were so cool; I wish they had them in my size. I love your pin, too. I got a couple hours sleep before the 10k but I didn't sleep at all the night before my first half marathon! That was rough so I can relate.
ReplyDeleteI agree about those shoes! I was jealous that Jared was able to get a pair, haha! That night before the 10k was definitely rough- I'm sure it'd be even worse before a half marathon! Hopefully I'll sleep better before the next 10k! :)
DeleteThose shoes are so cool! That is good you found a pair that were comfortable. Room looked nice, I remember seeing the expo and the run activities going on when I was in Cali one September. It is neat to hear about your experience.
ReplyDeleteI'm really happy I found those shoes too. They felt much better than the ones I had been training in! And that's right! You came to visit during the 2012 Disneyland 1/2 marathon weekend- I'm not sure how but I forgot about that! Maybe we can plan for you to visit during one of those weekends again and we can do a run together! :D
DeleteWe've stayed at the Hilton a few times and we like it there too. I bet it was crowded because of the marathon weekend. Glad that the parking situation didn't change your opinion of it.
ReplyDeleteThe shoes were cute. I guess if I ever find cute running shoes, it may compel me to try it. So when they make purple/pink light up running shoes let me know! :D
I liked the shirt and pin. I'm guessing that the shirt is what you pay for with the registration fee and the pin was extra?
That's right, the shirt was included in the registration fee and the pin was extra. :)
Delete