JV’s First Half: 2019 WDW Wine and Dine Half Marathon

When we heard new that runDisney would eventually be leaving Disneyland we were a bit sad because because we wouldn’t get to run around our favorite Disney parks with close friends any longer. Luckily we were able to sign up our oldest son for his very first half marathon at the last Disneyland race.

You see, it’s become sort of tradition that all of our first half marathons be runDisney races. Paula and I told each other that if Jacob were still into running and would want to run a half himself, that it would have to be a Walt Disney World race since that’s where most of the other runDisney races are held now. 

Fast forward to Jacobs birthday this past summer. I surprised him by registering him for the Wine and Dine Half Marathon. He was confused at first but once he realized that he would be taking a cross country trip to WDW with his Dad to run a race and galavant around the parks, he quickly got his jaw up off the floor and became super stoked. 😂 

He trained all summer long, mostly with Paula and complained a lot less than we had expected. She did so well prepping him for this race that all I had to do was get him to the starting line. But not before talking him into running in costume with me. When Gabriel and I ran the Disneyland half we Disney bounded as retro Mr. Incredible and retro Incrediboy. 

This was Wine and Dine and Paula had a great idea for us to go as Goofy and Max wearing chef hats. We didn’t go all out with pants, gloves and vests but wore the characters identifying colors. You get it. 

Expo

It had been so long since we’ve been to a runDisney expo, especially at WDW, and I almost forgot what an excursion it was to get bibs, shirts etc. all the way out at ESPN Wide World of Sports. 

After walking around for a bit we shuttled over to take a Skyliner ride to Epcot and back. The attraction was fairly new and we wanted to check it out. Fun!

Disney Springs

We got recommendations from a friend about Chef Art Smith’s HomeComin’ restaurant at Disney Springs. Let’s just say that they were spot on. Jacob and I absolutely loved what we had which were the thigh high chicken biscuits. Google it. With images. You’re welcome. 

We shopped around Disney Springs for a bit - so much has changed since we were last here a few years ago for Marathon Weekend. 

#Werunsocial meetup!

We went back to the hotel for a light dinner and to get ready for the race. What I didn’t forget about were the early wake up calls for runDisney races. Now try telling a teenager who’s playing hooky from school, running his first half marathon and is at WDW to go to bed early! 

#flatrunners ready

We woke up, got ready and set out to catch the shuttle to the start. Signage all over stated that runners should be on the bus at 330am which made it seem like that was the last bus to leave. Not wanting to be “that guy” who missed the race because we missed the bus, we were on the bus at 330am. Of course there plenty of shuttles AFTER that time but I’m glad that we were on the early bus. 

This allowed us time to stand in line for a pre-race character pic with none other than Chef Goofy! Because there is so much space at WDW, they have plenty of character photo opportunities PRE-Race. Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, etc. Nice.

Race

We knew going in that we would be taking ALL the photos with this being his first half. We didn’t want to run for any sort of time but wanted to savor every moment. 

He did extremely well running. And because there were so many picture spots, there weren’t too many long running stretches in between so we were good. 

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The course was amazing and running through the parks was a blast. The sun was up and we finished with huge smiles on our faces with fuel left in the tank to boot. 

Post Race Party

We cleaned up, got some food and rested before going back to Epcot for the post race party. Included with your registration is a ticket to a runners-only party in Epcot where they close the park for regular guests and keep it open for runners and anyone else who purchased a post race party ticket. We also received a  $15 gift card to use for anything we wanted, including merchandise at the parks outside of the party. Score!

While walking around Epcot, we utilized those gift cards to partake in the International Food & Wine Festival. So many good eats. And drinks. Cheers! Once the official post race party got underway, we spent a good amount of time waiting in line for a picture with the 3 Caballeros. It was extra long this year because they were on the challenge medal for the race. We hung with friends @blingwhore and @ironbeastjacky and made the best of it. 

We rode a couple of attractions that were open and took more pics with characters. Jacob was living it up, reveling in the evening, staying up waaaay too late. 

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I can’t be more proud of him. He enjoyed his first half marathon experience, feeling good throughout. We discussed our favorite parts of the race and he even said he wants to run another half marathon (non rundisney) soon. 

We spent the rest of the trip wearing our race medals proudly and the cherry on top of everything was a WDW VIP Tour the day after the race. That could be an entire post on its own but for now just enjoy some pics from that crazy whirlwind adventure. 

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Jacobs first half marathon. Mission accomplished. 

We've talked about it before and it's probably obvious - having 4 children and full time jobs makes training challenging for both of us. Yes, we try to include the children in our workouts and runs as much as possible, but we never want to force them to participate (they have to be willing) and there has to be training times where we can run to our best ability and then some. They say, if you want to be fast then run fast. So we have to have days where we can "run fast". (By no means am I saying Dave and I are fast, just working hard to be fast. 😉).  

So how can we both run in one day, after work and not be in he dark you ask?  We call it #runnerswitch. After work, dinner is either really simple, leftovers (yup we do that) or prepped beforehand (hello crockpot!). While the family eats dinner, one of us gets ready and runs 4-6 miles to a selected park. The family meets the runner at the park and "tag your it!", the other one runs the 4-6 miles home. It's the best way we can equally get training time and the kids get outdoors for an hour+!  Win win!!!  

With the weather getting warmer, daylight longer #runnerswitch is back!  And we love it. When this time of year comes along we get to spend almost every night of the week running and playing at the park.   It's a family affair for sure where everyone gets to  participate in physical activity, enjoy the outdoors and enjoy each other's company. It is extremely important to us to model for our children healthy living which also means balance. We do not force our children to run, play soccer, tennis, etc but emphasize keeping active even if it's climbing, jumping and running around a park. Fun and family is what it's all about. 

If you have children, how do you and your partner get training runs in?  How do you involve your children in running and/or staying active?    

"My kids won't eat vegetables..."

      Who hasn't heard this or said this before - "My kids don't like vegetables!"  Usually that statement is followed by the many ways parents have tried to entice, even trick their child to eat vegetable.  There are the "Condiment Coaxers" such as ranch, peanut butter or the ever popular cheese.  (Heck, I love cheese and what doesn't taste better covered in melted cheese?)  Then there is the "Great Cover Up" where the veggies are secretly put into a child's favorite meal or snack.  Even better, is the "Sweets Swap"; that last resort battle move of "if you eat ______, then I'll give you a (cupcake, ice cream, candy, etc).  Oh, the things us parents will do to get our kids to eat something healthy AND actually like it.  

     Now, I am by no means an expert.  My children can be stubborn and there are vegetables that they turn their nose up at, but overall my children LOVE vegetables.  They love them without the cover ups or treats, they love them raw or cooked.  What's the secret?  There really isn't any secret.  I simply believed three things.  The first is presentation.  It is all about how you offer the vegetables to your children.  If you have any doubt, any hesitation that they will not like it, the children will know.  They have an innate ability to sense when we are not confident and boy do they seize that moment.  I always put vegetables on the table as if it was just like any other food on the table.  I always had them put it on their plate, told them they had to try it, but never forced them to eat a lot of it if they didn't like.  

     The second thing is offering the vegetable as is, maybe steamed or roasted, but I didn't offer any vegetable with a dip or cheese.  I personally may like to dip my vegetables in something, add a little butter, put a little salt, etc, but that is my taste palate after decades.  My children's palate is brand new to the vegetable.  I want them to taste it and learn to love it for it's taste not the condiment along side.  To this day, my children are not dippers.  They do not ask for cheese on their broccoli, ranch for their carrots or peanut butter for their celery.  For the most part, they think it's weird that people do that.  This certainly puts a smile on my face.

     The third sort of loops back to the first.  It is all about offering, I offer a vegetable multiple times.  Here's a case in point.  Currently, my four year old did not like asparagus.  The first time I offered it to him, he said no way, but house rules, he took a bite.  He still said no way.  four more times later, we BBQ'd the asparagus.  Again, he had to take a bite, but this time he said "yum" and wanted more.  Success!  I am not fooled into thinking that he loves asparagus or that it might become his favorite vegetable, but he now will eat it, likes it.  

     It is true that it takes at least 10 times of being introduced to a new food, for someone to form a real opinion about liking it or not.  So don't give up.  Offer vegetables, keep offering vegetables.  Encourage them to try it, but don't necessarily push it.  Even have them pick a vegetable when you are grocery shopping.  Sometimes by them choosing, they feel more willing to try tasting.  Trust me, there will be one, two, maybe three vegetables they will learn to like, possibly love.