On January 7, 2011 we traveled to Orlando, FL for the Disney 2011 Marathon. That night we went to the Florida Mall where Caleb went to the M&M store, I saw a 2 story Starbucks, and we got Caleb some “Cars” (from the movie Cars) at the Disney store.
On Saturday, we visited “Downtown Disney” where Caleb saw Mr Potato Head & Buzz Lightyear and he rode on the merry go round. That night, Trisha made me a bowl of pasta and chicken to prepare me for the race.
For the Disney race weekend (a 5K on Friday, 1/2 marathon on Saturday, and full marathon on Sunday), there were over 54,000 runners and 100,000+ people who came to town for the race. I started the marathon with my friend from work, Peter Bruzzese who lives in Orlando. The first 17 miles of the race were great. I ran through magic kingdom and got my picture taken in front of the castle and with Woody and Jessie from the movie Toy Story. The last 9 miles of the race were really tough but I finished at 5:25 which is better than my first marathon (this was my second). Caleb and Trisha were at the finish holding signs to cheer me on and it was so wonderful. You’ll see the Mickey Mouse that Caleb got with the headband “I did it” and the gold medal. Caleb also got a shirt that says “my Daddy ran the 26.2 Disney 2011 marathon” that he wore to the finish.
After the race, we celebrated with Pei Wei Chinese food and, that night, we celebrated again with some amazing food from Anthony’s coal fired pizza – chicken wings in grilled onions, meal balls, and pizza.
Enjoy the pictures!
View Slideshow to see all 87 pictures from the trip
