Although I was not registered for any races during the Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend this year, I did manage to watch the entire Star Wars saga on Disney+ throughout this whole quarantine saga.
So, when pretty much the entire runDisney community decided to come together to make their own quarantine version of the Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend due to the cancellation of said race weekend, I was all in! One of the running groups I belong to (Team #runDisney) created a true "Rival Run" and place runners on two different teams (dark side and light side). The teams would then log their miles throughout the weekend - the team with the most mileage/points at the end of the weekend was the winner! Well, I was given team dark side and although we kept a lead for a good bit of the weekend, we ultimately lost to team light side. Whomp whomp. It was all in great fun, anyway!
Happy Star Wars Day, by the way!
Friday
Since I had not attempted anything quite like this challenge in a long while, I decided to take it super slow on Friday and Saturday to baby my hamstring. A 4:1 run/walk ratio was quickly adapted and it suited me well then entire weekend which I was very grateful for!
I honestly kind of enjoyed the run/walk ratio - it always kept my mind on something and helped the miles go by!
Saturday
For the 10K on Saturday, I continued with the same 4:1 run/walk ratio and attempted to keep a similar pace as Friday.
The weather was perfect the entire weekend and the 10K turned out to be a really good one!
I honestly haven't run three days back to back with varying up mileage like this since Dopey in 2018 which made me very nervous. I am so thankful my hamstring decided to behave!
Sunday
On the morning of the half marathon, I got a little bit of a head start and added in a few fun extras to help make the idea of running a half marathon at home a bit more exciting!
What does every runDisney race have? CHARACTERS!
After considering a few different options, I came across the official Star Wars app. Included with the app are "stickers" which you can move and resize on your pictures as you see fit.
With a plan in mind, I was off!
I decided to have a "character stop" every 1.5 miles or so and take GU at mile 5 and 10. Along with counting down a 4:1 run/walk ratio, my mind was literally busy the entire 13.1 miles. (You can also see all of these pictures and more on my instagram runDisney highlight.)
Baby Yoda at mile 1.6.
Dark Side? Light Side? It didn't matter! They were all a part of my race weekend!
Imperial Storm Trooper at the 5K point.
In order to take these photos, I found various points along the route to rest my phone and I used the selfie mode timer. I'm sure my neighbors thought I was straight up crazy!
I found Rey at mile 4.6.
Look! It's the Millennium Falcon at the halfway point!
I spotted a Porg at mile 8!
Kylo Ren did not understand that I was on team dark side! He was ready to chop off my hand at mile 9.5.
Although I managed to get away from Kylo, this storm trooper was ready and waiting for me at mile 11. Thank goodness they have terrible aim! I was not impressed.
I know I said I was team dark side, but seeing this Wookie at mile 12.5 really made my day!
...and done!
High fives after my run from this little dude were pretty special, too!
That's a wrap! Race 3 of the Rival Run weekend was complete (for a combined total of 22.4 miles) and my hamstring held up through the entire thing! I decided that run/walking at a slower pace and continuing to run vs running fast and having pain was a better alternative in the long run, anyway!
Jason had breakfast waiting for me once I was done. This included coffee in our Rey coffee mug and Sky (Paw Patrol) waffles because...well, she's a pilot and it was the closest thing we could come up with! :)
About a week after running this challenge, the medal I ordered from Virtual Pace Series arrived. I realize that this specific challenge was actually supposed to coincide with Star Wars day (which is today), but I decided to make it my April the 19th challenge instead. :)
The official virtual runDisney Star Wars Half Marathon was sold out, so I chose this one from Virtual Pace Series because the back of the medal included all of the distances I ran - the 5K, 10K, and Half.
Oh yes, and the medal included Mando and Baby Yoda...so yes, I'm an easy sell!
Did anyone else run their own Virtual Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend? If so, how did it go?
Happy Star Wars Day! May the 4th Be With You!
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