Eating my way through Disney's California Adventure's Food and Wine Festival 2017

Ready to Eat and Drink!

Bring on the Food!

Food & Wine Festival Passport

So I'll preface this post by stating that I did go last year to the Food & Wine Festival, but that I felt this year's was more popular and more delicious.  If you have a chance to check it out, I highly recommend it!  I will start with the booths I tried, and what I tried from each booth.  I may go back later into the month to try more, so stay tuned, as there may be more reviews to come.

Also, if you are going and planning on trying out the food and drinks from the various booths, I highly recommend picking up one of these handy dandy Food & Wine Festival Tasting Passports. It has a bit more information that the pamphlets they are handing out, such as the various specialty drinks that are served at each kiosk in addition to the food and the map of the different kiosk locations. The Passport also denotes which of the food items are gluten-friendly and/or vegetarian. You can get the passport from a kiosk and they are FREE! 

Note:  My friend and I arrived at the park at 11am. The Festival begain at 10:30. Even between 10:30-11:30 they had already ran out of quite a bit of food, so you may need to check back for what you really want to try.

Our Method:

We walked all the way to the last koisk towards the boardwalk and then worked our way back towards Carthay Circle and around to Hollywood land to hit the LA Styles Booth. 

Off the Cob

JackFruit Carnia Banh Mi Nachos

This was our first stop and it was delicious! It was less crowded as it was all the way at the end of the boardwalk.  We picked up two of the savory food items here.  The JackFruit Carnita Banh Mi Nachos with Cilantro Crema and "Pickled" de Gallo and Sweet Corn Nuggets with Beef Chili, Spring Onions & Sour Cream. 

The Nachos: I have always been a fan of JackFruit but had never had it cooked into carnitas before. I am so glad I got these! They were very good. The flavors all worked well together. It was both a bit savory and sweet and was a great way to start the day.  If you are not a fan of more asian influenced flavors, you may not like these that much, but for me, I love it, and I was happy. 

Sweet Corn Nuggets with Chili
(Photo Credit: DB)

The Corn Nuggets: These were the perfect combination of savory! The bean chili topped with green onions and sour cream really paired well with the sweet taste of the corn.  The chili was very good, and even the corn nuggets eaten without being covered in chili were very good alone. 

Both of the items at this booth were great. 

Lemon Grove

Lemon Macaron and Mule

This is one of the more popular booths. We wanted to try both the Cauliflower and the Duck Confit, but they were sold out at the time.  I did order the Meyer Lemon Macaron with Blueberry Marmalade, Meyer Lemon Cream & Blueberry Dust as well as the Meyer Lemon Ginger Mule. Both were pretty good. 

The Macaron was so good at first bite. I really enjoyed the blueberry dust with the Lemon Cream and Lemon Macaron, however I was not a huge fan of the blueberry marmalade. I think the macaron would have been perfect without the change in texture in the center. 

The Mule was great! It was a perfect first drink at the Festival. It was a bit spicy and the flavors really worked perfectly together. 

Pork Belly Bao

Garlic Kissed 

This was one of the best dishes I tried on this day.  It was so delicious. I will start with the fact that I am a huge Bao fan.  I love it. So when I tried the Black Garlic & Soy-Braised Pork Belly Bao with Pickled Vegetables, I was already sold, really.  It was very flavorful. I would say that they only negatives to this item is the line.  Also, it is really a hit or miss on how fatty the pork is that you get. Mine was a bit fattier than my friends, but it was still delicious.  If this sounds like something you would be interested in trying, do it.

LA Style

After we did most of the booths on the main drag, we headed to the LA Style booth that is tucked away near Stage 17 and the Monster's Inc. ride.  When we got there, the line for this tucked away booth wasn't very long. SCORE!  By this time, my friend and I were a bit full, so we decided to split the Korean Barbecue Beef Short Rib Tacos with Kimchi Slaw.  The flavors in this item were very similar to the Bao, but was still delicious in its own right. If you are more a fan of beef than pork, then this would be a great option for you to get those classic flavors without the pork. 

Overall, these were pretty delicious, but did have a similar flavor to the Bao.

Sweet & Sourdough

After we walked around for a bit longer, we swung back around and headed to Sweet & Sourdough. We both wanted to try the White Cheddar Lager Soup in the Mini Boudin Sourdough Boule.  I am glad we did wind up back here. This soup was amazing. The flavors were solid.  This is a bit of a heavier item, so this is what we finished with. The Bread bowl was great without being chewy, and really made the soup that much better. 

Overall

Overall, I would recommend spending some time at this year's Food and Wine Festival. I feel that it was much better than the attempts made in previous years.  Go venture around and pick up a map and a passport and find things to expand your taste buds. Many of the things we tried were delcious, and I know you can find one, or many, things that you will love just as much as I/we did.  

Feel free to comment or reach out to me if you have any questions!  @engrbrianne_fit on Instagram :)

My Experiences with a Country Heat Beachbody Challenge

Country Heat, Beachbody, Shakeology and Me

Let me start by just prefacing this.  I was a little apprehensive (like I assume many of you are) about signging up to do a beachbody challenge.  I have incorporated some of their other programs such as Insanity, P90X and T25 into my workout routine for some time, but I have never actually completed an entire challenge start to finish and followed the nutrition plan.  Let me tell you.. I WAS DOING IT WRONG BEFORE NOW.  I am here to share my experiences with using the workouts, the shakes and the nutrition plan for anyone who may be interested in learning a little more about it.

The Before and Current ( I'm always a work in progress, in more ways than one :)  )

Inches Lost by Part

Weight:

Starting Weight: 195.8

End ChallengeWeight: 187.2

Total Weight Lost During 30 days of Country Heat: 8.6 lbs

Average Weight Lost per week:  2.04 lbs

My weight loss is super average and what is considered healthy and safe by most professionals.

Inches:

Total Inches Lost: 7.6

Where I was mentally/physically

I had just finished buying and renovating my house. I had gradually put on 50+ lbs over the last two years in preparation for the move as well as too much gluttony with my main squeeze (you can see him in other posts here on my blog).  I had been active up until that point, training and running half marathons and always at the gym, until I just stopped doing it all. I couldnt tell you why, I'm still not really sure why I did, but I do know the effect that it had.  It was harder to move, harder to get going. I felt like garbage ALL.THE.TIME. So I knew something had to change. 

I was emotionally broken as well, as I weighed more than I have ever weighed before. I am pretty sure I was over 200lbs but I avoided a scale for a bit, until I started going to the gym again, and when I did weigh in.. it showed me as 198.9.  This was a huge shock for me. I had never seen my weight crawl that high. I think before this time, the last high number I had seen on myself was 188 in 2013, and that was also scary to me.  

This prompted me to go into overdrive. I was working out 4-5 days a week and using a calorie counting app to monitor my intake and my progress. Well, there wasn't a whole lot of progress. I think in 5 weeks I lost maybe 3 lbs. I hit bottom. I know, as most know, that the older you get, the harder things get, but I mean, I am only in my 30s!

My Thoughts During the Workouts

For any beginner to fitness, I really recommend this workout program! The steps are pretty easy to follow, and the program itself eases you into harder combinations week by week (so it isn't all thrown at your at once). I think that Autumn is great, as well as many of the background dancers and the modifier Julie. On the topic of the modifier- she does a great job of showing you the moves as low impact as possible, and the editing crew did a great job of showing her on the moves that you may be more likely to modify (mostly jumping moves). The program comes with additional videos to learn the steps prior to pushing play. I didnt actually use the step videos, as I have a dance background and can pick up choreography relatively quickly (with the exception of wacky feet which I have yet to master).  I really loved the dance conditioning video as I felt like it was more true to my dance roots with many plies and releves through in there. 

I used a Fitbit to track my calorie burn, and I actually burned less than the estimated 300 for the program. My calorie burn would range from 225-275 on average, unless I also did Dance Conditioning, in which I would hit around 450 calories burned. I basically just recalculated my portion container needs based on the calories (which actually didn't change).  More about the portion control system below!

My Thoughts on the Portion Control System

The portion control system is WAY FREAKING EASIER to use than a scale.  With the whole challenge pack, you are given a meal plan guide to help you figure out your calorie goal which tells you how many of each container you need daily.  It is based off your weight and expected calorie burn, then calculates in a deficit.  I was in the 1500 calorie level, which always seemed like enough food.  Included in the meal plan is also 3 days worth of sample plans (which is actually more as each meal lists 2-3 different options). The goal is to eat 3 main meals, and 2 snacks. This system, and similar methods, always works well with me, as I tend to want to eat snacks.  I love the portion containers MUCH better than having to use measuring cups and a scale to portion, as it is much easier to just plop a bunch of food in the container and dump it on your plate.

Overall, it is an easy system to follow, and I will continue to use it when I start the 21 Day Fix this next week!

My Thoughts on the Shakeology Shakes

So I was like most people out there about the shakeology shakes- skeptical, but now.. I AM A BELIEVER. Anyone who knows me knows I have some serious stomach issues. I had been diagnosed with IBS and many other issues related to that.  I always had an upset stomach and felt poorly at least one day a week, but now I feel so much better! Shakeology is not just a protein shake or a meal replacement. It is a game changer.  I no longer need coffee first thing in the morning, I haven't had an upset stomach in I can't tell you how long, and the vitamins and minerals keep my immune system strong.  Even when all my co-workers were getting sick around me, I managed to stay germ free (it's the way to be!).  Overall, I love these shakes, and I am so happy 

Want to try it with me?

If you are interested in joining me or one of the challenge groups I run, please contact me at engrbriannefit@gmail.com or through the link to the left (shop) or below.  

I hope to hear from you. :)

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My Review on the Aladdin's Oasis Main Street Electrical Parade Dining Package

In short: WORTH IT.

Shhhh!!! It is Starting!

Get Excited!

Such a Classic.

Planning!

with a Disney Duck (not Donald)

So I had made the decision to use Disney Holiday Tickets that my Cast Member other half had received to go to Disneyland with my mom, my best friend, and her mother. Since the Main Street Electrical Parade is back for a limited time, my mom wanted to see it, as she remembers it from her time as kid.  

Now we were planning on attending the weekend after the parade returned, so it was going to be crowded and people would most likely line up hours before the parade start to ensure they got a spot. Since we knew this would be the case, we starting looking for dining packages (similar to what they had with the Paint the Night parade and Fantasmic and what they continue to do in California Adventure with World of Color).  My mom took to the internet and came across the two dining/viewing packages that they offer.  The Aladdin's Oasis package and the Blue Bayou package. As we have done Blue Bayou in the past, and weren't really looking for that level of dining, we discussed with our Disney partners, and decided on Aladdin's Oasis. 

We chose 4:30pm for our reservation as this guaranteed us the early parade viewing. Since we were braving the park with my seven month pregnant best friend, this was the best option.  

Disney Day!

Relaxing on a bench at the Hub

We started our day at California Adventure because we knew we would be spending all evening at Disneyland.  We went ahead and headed to get a fastpass for the new Soaring Over the World then headed to Carsland. Our mothers wanted to ride Racers, so we waited and ate delicious things from the Cozy Cones.  My friend had their pretzel bites and I have pizza flavored popcorn (SO.GOOD.). After we ate we went to Little Mermaid and then to Soaring.  The new soaring is awesome. There just happens to be a lot of things that jump in your face, so if that tends to bother you, you have been warned. 

After soaring we headed to Disneyland. I know we did a few rides here, but I honestly cant remember the order. I know in the day we did Pirates, Haunted Mansion, and Small World- Disneyland is fun like that. 

When was almost time to eat so we headed to Aladdin's Oasis to order our food. More about that below:

Same menu is used for MSEP

Aladdin's Oasis and the Parade Viewing Dining Package: 

So we went to get in line at the kiosk where you order the To-Go packages (if you didnt know that they are to-go meals, now you are aware).  The only downfall to this was the wait. I think we must have waited at least 20 minutes to order our food, as the individuals in front of us must have been ordering for small armies. 

When it was time to order, I actually wasn't too impressed with the menu options, I believe they have herb-marinated chicken breast, a meat lasagna and a vegetarian lasagna for adults, and they had a grilled chicken breast, spaghetti with marinara and macaroni and cheese for the kids. I believe the prices shown might be slightly less than the new charges ( I used a discount, so I am unsure what they were).  

I ended up ordering off of the kids menu (with no issues- some kept saying that Disney wouldn't allow this, but I had no issues). I got the macaroni and cheese. It was actually super delicious.  Included with the kids plate (which is in a super convenient carry container since it was to-go) is macaroni and cheese- a ton of it, mixed fruit, a roll and butter, steamed green beans and a delicious Mickey cookie.  If you are actually feeding a child with this meal, it is definitely enough food for two of them, as it was enough for me, and I was quite full.  

Instead of just grabbing and going with our meal, we asked to dine at the oasis and was given a table number.  We had no problems finding a large table in the shade under the patio.  We sat our numbers on the table and a server came and brought us our beverages, utensils and after just enough time to sing the chours from "A Whole New World" our food was out!

It was a nice little sit down "grab and go".

Mickey and the Magical Map

After our little dining excursion we headed to watch Mickey and the Magical Map. The three ladies I was with had never seen it, and as I was toting around a very pregnant best friend, sitting down was a good option nearing the end of the day.  We walked to Fantasyland and I got hot chocolate and sat down and we all watched Mickey chase a spot around a Map. They all really enjoyed it, and I completely recommend this little show if you haven't seen it. The music is fantastic and it is super cute. 

After the Map, I am pretty sure this is when we rode Small World, as we needed to kill some time before we could enter the preferred viewing area for the dining package.

Parade Viewing with the Dining Package

So there are two dining packages that are offered for the Main Street Electrical Parade viewing. One is where we were, and the other (honestly I don't even know where the other is- but its included with the Blue Bayou dining package).  The viewing location for the Aladdin Dining Package is the large terrace right next to It's a Small World.  If you are staring directly at the Small World clock, the terrace is to your immediate right.  The large gates between the two are where the parade begins, so you are the first group to see it step down.  Honestly our view was great, and we were able to sit and rest on the steps before it started (we got there about an hour early).  We watched it, were mesmerized, and it was overall a fantastic day. 

Final Thoughts

I have told numerous people that if they really want to watch the parade, and don't want to worry about setting up camp 3 hours before the parade begins for a great spot to do this dining package. My food was delicious and the view is great.  As always, feel free to comment if you have an questions!

Making Memories- Orbs from Inside out

Making Memories- Orbs from Inside Out

Hi All! 

For this past fall Dapper Day at Disneyland Resort, my friends and I Disneybounded as the characters from Inside Out.  See Picture below!

In order to complete the look we made the memory balls from the movie. In this post, I will walk you through how my boyfriend and I created the memory ball magic. 

What You Will Need:

• Plastic Orbs for painting (we used the ones found here on Amazon)
• Tool for cutting of tab on orb (only if your orb has a tab)
• Spray Paint (we used a Krylon colormaster in the colors needed, that is plastic friendly)
• Masking Tape
• Double-Sided Tap
• Syran Wrap (anything in the kitchen will work for this)
• Iridescent Cellophane
• Glue (we used a fast drying epoxy)

Getting Started:

Note: You may do this for both sides concurrently, or you can do each separately.  In the following tutorial, only one half of the orb is shown in photos. 

Step 1 - Tab Removal and Cleaning:

If your orb has a tab on it, this will be where you carefully remove it with some sort of cutting tool.

Once the tab is removed, or if your orb did not have a tab, clean the inside of the orb with soap and water such that the paint will stick well.  Allow to dry completely. 

Step 2- Masking:

You will need to mask the base of the orb on the outside, such that the paint will not get through.  Be careful while applying the tape, as you do not want the paint to end up on the outer face of the orb.

Step 3- Syran Wrapping: 

Place a layer of double-sided tape to the outside of the orb, on top of the masking tape.  Add a layer of Syran wrap to the outside of the orb using the double sided tape as the anchor. Re-tape over the Syran wrap and double sided tape such that the Syran wrap is sandwiched between two layers of masking tape, but does not cover the inside of the orb (as we will be painting the insides).

The orb should now look like the one above. 

Step 4- Painting:

Apply a light coat of spray paint in the desired color to the inside of the orb. The goal is to achieve a translucent color.  You can always add more paint, so be light-handed with the spray paint to start. 

Add additional coats as desired.  Allow to dry completely. 

Remove the masking and Syran wrap.  

Step 5 and 6-  Filling with Cellophane and Gluing the Orb Together

I dont have any specific photos of how to do this, but we had a roll of cellophane.  We cut large pieces to lightly crumple up and stick inside the orb.  We then put both pieces together and glued it shut. We put a light amount of glue in about 4 areas around the circumference of the orb.

There you have it! A Memory Orb to resemble those used in inside out.  

Here you can see my boyfriend and myself representing Disgust and Anger with our memory orbs. 

The cellophane adds a bit of depth so that the orbs photograph differently every time.

I hope you enjoy! 

My Experiences as an Influenster with the I Do Vox Box

The I Do Vox Box

 

Contents:

Skinnygirl Tasty Nutrition Bar: Chocolate Chip
Urgent Rx Ache & Pain To-Go Powders
Neturogena Hand Cream Norwegian Formula- Fragrance Free
Sahale Snacks: Grab & Go Almonds with Cranberries
Covergirl Outlast Longwear Lipstick
Covergirl Outlast Stay Luminous Foundation
Indeed Labratories- Indeed Nanoblur (a primer)

Opening Remarks:

I am going to go through each product and give my honest opinion. I received all of the products complementary from Influester, and the respective companies, but all opinions are my own. 

Skinnygirl Tasty Nutrition Bar: Chocolate Chip

Although many of the reviews I have read state others  did not like these bars, I thought that for a nutrition/protein bar that stays low in calories it is decent.  I feel that a lot of people are probably comparing them to more of a granola or "healthy" bar, however this bar falls more into the protein bar category. I feel that for the nutrition (120 kCal, 10g protein, 7g fiber) this bar really holds its own in the category. I am not really a chocolate chip fan in any protein bar and this one was okay. I would be interested in trying another flavor.

@skinnygirldaily @skinnygirlgetshitched

Urgent Rx Ache & Pain To-Go Powder

Coming Soon!

+UrgentRx #myurgentrx

Neutrogena Hand Cream Norwegian Formula- Fragrance Free

 I absolutely love this lotion!  I have the sample size and I keep it next to my computer at my desk  to counteract the EXTREMELY drying hand soap that my office has in our restrooms. I love that this is fragrance free, as it does not irritate my nose with its scents (or that of my co-workes, boyfriend, or anyone else I come near after using this).  I actually want to buy a small sample of this for my boyfriend to try because he is uber picky about the lotion he uses, and I think he might actually like this one.  That experiment is still in the works.  :D

@neutrogena #justadab

Sahale Snacks: Grab and Go Almonds with Cranberries

These were delicious! I am so glad they only come in a small pouch because any larger and I would have probably eaten the entire bag. I do that. I have control issues. Really though, if you are going to do any traveling or just want to carry around snacks with you (or in your desk at work), I highly recommend these. They can be justified as healthy and will make your taste buds dance.

+Sahale Snacks #snackbetter

Covergirl Outlast Longwear Lipstick

Covergirl Outlast Stay Luminous Foundation

I will review these two together since they are both Covergirl products and I tried them out together.  I already use Covergirl Lashblast mascara (also in photo), but have never really fell in love with any of their other products. I can say that I am more willing to try them now.  I did like the foundation, I normally don't wear liquid foundation (I stick to MAC StudioFix compact), but this one didn't feel too heavy and I thought the coverage was even and didn't melt off even when walking around Downtown Disney for a couple hours in July.  I liked the lipstick even more. That stuff stayed put, and even when the glossy finish faded, the color did not. It did fade a little in spots, so I would apply a balm and TA-DAAAA! Good As New.  I noticed that this lasted for most of a day, and even the next morning, I still had a little lip tint going on. I was not in love with the color I was sent, but for a longwear, inexpensive lipstick I will definitely give this brand a shot!

+COVERGIRL #glowthedistance

Indeed Labratories- Indeed Nanoblur

Now for the bad: I absolutely did not like this primer at all. It is all wrong for my skin. It was heavy, sank into my pores and made my foundation look splotchy. I do not really know what else to say other than that. I normally use Smashbox Photo Finish or Benefit Pore-fessional and felt that the indeed cannot hold a candle to either of those.  I do not recommend this product.  #nanoblurred @indeedlabs @influenster

Overall Experience with Influenster:

Overall, I really enjoyed receiving this voxbox and trying out the products. I hope I get picked for others! I felt that it opened my eyes to different products that I might normally overlook. I will probably buy many of the products I sampled and reviewed. I recommend going on Influenster.com and signing up and you might qualify for a box too!

My RunDisney Inaugural Avengers 5k at Disneyland Resort

Avengers Assemble! 

November 14, 2014- The Expo

I attended the Expo on Friday, the day before I was set to run the 5k. They had a lot of really cool booths (which I did a great job of avoiding and spending gobs amount of money), as well as the official merchandise. On the topic of official merchandise, if you do not go early on the first day, chances are you will be subject to slim pickings of what is remaining. This may or may not be a bad thing for you, but I know many were not happy that most of the things they wanted were gone by the time they could attend the expo. 

After walking around the expo for a bit, I decided to take a photo at the photo booth areas that they aways have set up for the races. See! 

I guess I should also mention that I picked up this bad boy: 

Yeeaaahhh... guess who was about to run a 5k with only about 2 weeks of training.. Yeah that was me. Whoops. I guess I should really get back on the training wagon...  

Well after the expo I decided to walk around with friends at Disney the day before the race, and that is what I did.  Next stop: Race day!

November 15, 2014- Race Day!

Well here I was... in Corral A no less (which I will most likely never see again, as I am very much a turtle running through peanut butter type of runner. Here is my classic selfie. 

I keep running most of these things alone, so selfies seem to be the easiest method to document. Sorry if it bothers you!  Anyway, back to what was going on. Here I was waiting for the party to get started. It was a bit chilly on this day. I ran the 5k in a jacket and my favorite Lululemon running crops.  After waiting for what seemed like forever, we were off!

The race started through Disney's California Adventure. There were four Avengers throughout the race with photo ops (Hawkeye, Black Widow, Thor, Captain America), but their lines had switchbacks they were so long! Instead, I decided to get some of the standby characters I didn't have a chance to stop for at the Disneyland Half Marathon. Here is me being a cheeseball with those characters: 

Also, the great thing about the 5k is that almost the entire course is through the parks. I totally creeped on all the mile marker signs because I didn't want to wait in line, but here are those photos also, along with the Castle, because that is also a large marker (just without a mile sign :D )

This is where I knew I was almost done. 3.1 miles to go for a 5k. But before the finish I got to creep with a cardboard Captain. Ha!

 And then.....

I FINSIHED!!! I received my medal (which is made of plastic for the 5k) and called it a day. I went home, took a shower and got back in bed for another 3 hours. It was glorious. 

My Thoughts

I am looking forward to running the next couple races (Star Wars Inaugural 10k and Tinkerbell 10k) with friends and family. As much as I enjoy doing this races, and will continue to do them either way, I would like to experience the event with a partner in crime. I might even sign my boyfriend up for the Disneyland Half Marathon races with me, even though he refuses to run. hehe.  Until next time!

My First Disneyland Half Marathon (aka my first run ever)

My Experience with the Disneyland Half Marathon Race Weekend

So way back before the Disneyland Half Marathon, I had to register. Initially, I was going to register for the 10K, but somehow my cousin talked me into the half marathon (as she was going to complete it as well). So I registered for that. Fast forward six months, the run was quickly approaching. Because I had almost no training (my longest run before the half was 7 miles), I was freaking out. It also did not help that I was having some serious hip pain two weeks prior to the race, but I sucked it up, sewed a running skirt, and packed my bag for the paradise pier hotel for the night prior to the race. My family, cousin and boyfriend went to Mimi's off Harbor for dinner. We then went back to the room and watched World of Color from our window before getting in bed to try (notice I say try) to sleep for the night.  (See Below for the view of World of Color from the room)

The next morning, after almost no sleep, it was time to get up at 4am. Race starts at 5:30 for corral A. I was in corral I, and my was cousin in J. We got up and ready in our running skirts and made our way to the starting line. I ate a poptart on the way there to fuel, and then the waiting game began. (See photo for pre-race smiles)

Waiting for the race to start is fun (and would have been more fun if I knew someone in my corral). They have announcers talking and music and everyone is getting hyped up. It is also a good time to see some of the creative costumes people come up with for these races.  As many of my friends know, I am pretty clumbsy. During my corral walk up to the starting line, I tripped on a road reflector. That was probably a good thing, as I was completely aware of them for the rest of the day. 

Around 6:12am it was time for my corral to cross the start line! Woohoo! 

And I was off. Now mind you, I had basically no training in the month prior to the race, and had only completed a total of 7 miles on my longest run. That said, I did okay. It is especially an easy first 3-4 miles as they are through and very near the park. I only stopped for a couple of photos as I was afraid that I would not make pace, which was, at this point, my only goal. Here is a couple photos from Carsland: one with DJ (because he's never available for photos, and one with my favorite cast member (my boyfriend).

After finishing my run through the parks, we took to the streets of Anaheim. This is probably the most boring part of the run and the fact that I was getting tired between miles 7 and 8. It is nice that there are spectators and groups dancing and cheering, but the streets are still streets, and they can be pretty dangerous. I saw two people crash on railroad tracks and numerous people trip on the road reflectors, so always watch where your stepping!  There is only one major hill on the whole course (pictured below), so other than the boring, it is a pretty flat course.  

Here is me at mile 6 on the course! There are mile markers to let you know how far you have come. The time is off a bit, though, as it is the race time for the first corral (corral A) starters. I signed up for the text alerts in order to manage my actual time.

My 10k time (6.2 miles) was 1:30, which is a pace of 14:31. My best training times were between 11-13 minutes, so this was a bit slow for me. 

Around mile 8 we were near the Honda center with all the nice cars to cheer us on. I took a picture with a Lightning McQueen impostor (see photo), and headed onto the Santa Ana River Trail, which would take us to Angels Stadium.  

 And here I am inside of Angels Stadium! We got to run through the outfield. There were many scouts of different types inside cheering on the runners!

This was about the time when I thought my legs were going to fall off. About mile 9 I wanted to die. I wanted to curl up on the course and just wave as people passed. I wanted to, but I didn't. I kept walking and jogging. The hip pain I had/have was making it so that jogging was actually more comfortable than walking. I would also have to stop and stretch my quads out as they were cramping pretty bad at this point. But, as Dory says, "just keep swimming", or in this case, running. So I did. I kept at a slow pace for the last 4 miles and then crossed that glorious finish line. It was magic. I was done. What else do you do when you finish? Pick up your medal, your box of snacks, and take a selfie!

All and all it was a great experience, however, I think the 13.1 miles is a bit long for me. I think I will stick to 10Ks. I will definitely stick with RunDisney though. My upcoming races are the Avengers Inaugural 5K, the Star Wars Inaugural 10K, and the Tinkerbell 10K. Let's lace up those running shoes and make some costumes!