I ran a 5k...

Late on Friday night we drove to Disneyland. Our intention was to check in to the hotel, relax, eat, and get a good night's sleep. I needed at least eight hours of uninterrupted zzzz's if I was going to have a chance at running the entire 5k.

For two years I've been trying to get my body back into shape, gradually training my mind and muscles to think "Yes I can" instead of "WTF?!" It was unbelievably hard.

All those people who say they got into shape in a few weeks? I hate them. It took me years and I'm not there yet. But I was going to run this 5k. The fact that it was Avengers was awesome, and the fact that we were going to run through Disneyland, even better.

But when we arrived at the hotel we found out we were selected as the "Magic Family of the Day" and, SURPRISE! we were escorted to the Pirates of the Caribbean Suite.

The dining table.

The hall bathroom.

4am faces.

It was glorious. Bigger than our house. It had three full bathrooms. My children ran around like nuts, turning on all the lights and taking pictures. It was pretty awesome. Even the doorbell was awesome - singing Yo Ho Ho Ho. All this awesomeness meant that when we finally went down for dinner everything was closed. My daughter suggested Pizza Port in Tomorrowland. We rode the monorail, arriving just as Pizza Port closed. My son suggested corn dogs on main street. Everyone else in the park wanted corn dogs too, and a half hour later we finally sat down to eat.

It was delicious.

But I was starting to get nervous. The stress played with my head. I tried to relax. I tried to sleep. But couldn't. The last time I looked at the clock it was 3am. At 4am my alarm went off. I had slept for an hour. I had botched it. My first 5k was going to be a bomb. Resigned, we woke the kids up, got dressed and headed out with 5,000 other people to line up for the start.

There were so many people in costume. So many people smiling. Kids. Adults. One man in an inappropriate Captain America bodysuit. We were in the 3rd corral, and by the time we hit the start line it was fifteen minutes into the race. We walked for a bit and then my daughter and I started running. We turned a corner and entered Car's Land.

And magic happened.

I was no longer even a little bit tired. Dawn was painting happiness in the park. I ran behind my daughter with a giant smile on my face, giving people with giant Mickey hands high-fives, and yelling out compliments to people on their costumes. We ran past the Grizzly Rapid Ride, out of California Adventure and into Disneyland, down main street, past the castle, around Big Thunder...

We finished in 36 minutes. It took a little over a half hour to affirm that if I stuck with something, didn't give up, didn't sabotage myself, I could make it...and enjoy it.

We tried going to the park afterward, but I couldn't walk properly. Apparently, sprinting in happiness for a little over three miles early in the morning with no sleep and only adrenaline for food, causes muscle fatigue. Who knew. :)