Daughters of the King of Kings

About 6 months ago my little sister, Kristen, and I signed up to do the first-ever Princess 1/2 marathon at Disney World. We decided we would enter as a sister/sister team and our team name would be Daughters of the King of Kings. I know a lot of moms get really caught up in the whole "princess" thing for their daughters. I do too, but in a different kind of way. I tell my girls we really are princesses because Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and God is our heavenly father; therefore, we who accept him as Lord of our lives, are princesses. Even this past summer when we went to Disney as a family and my girls and I ate at Cinderella's castle I reiterated that to them.



We met Kristen and Jonathan (her hubby) at the princess expo Saturday morning. The first thing we did as we entered was get sprinkled with pixie dust. . . it made me feel like a little girl. .



We got our packets and shopped a little bit. Okay. . . confession time. . . you guys know how I've been fasting from buying clothes while I study the book of Daniel? I haven't bought the first stitch of clothing. However, I did buy a running shirt and hat on top of the one I got for being in the race. . . I cracked under the pressure. . . but I'm still going to get back on the wagon and stick to not buying anything until I'm finished studying the first half of Daniel.

Next, we headed over the Epcot. Jon and I are Disney pros, and Kris and Jonathan had never been to Epcot. As adults this is our favorite park (as parents we love Magic Kingdom most). We have a fabulous time showing them around our "second home."

Kris and I had already bought matching running outfits after we signed up for the race. I had to coerce her into wearing a silly hat. The boys decided to help us pick one out. . . .

I wanted this funky crown. . . no one else liked it. So I was a good big sister and I let have the baby sister her way . . . just kidding. I really liked the hat she chose also.

Y'all know I had to get a picture with my sweet hubby. . .

Sunday morning we skipped our clocks one hour ahead and were up bright and early at 4:30 new time, 3:30 old time. . . Kris and I were afraid we would not be able to find our way around. Our GPS acts up really funny in DW . . . something that has to do with all of the access roads they have. So, we picked Kris and Jonathan up and headed to Epcot where the starting line was. Kris knows me well and got me a coffee to keep me warm b/c it was quite chilly that morning.

With this next picture, please look closely at my feet. I know have mentioned before that my running shoes are the nemesis of my high heels. My running shoes really deserve a post of their own, which I will probably do soon, but for now just check them out . . . even click on the picture to enlarge it if you have to. . . they are worth looking at. . .

Pretty ugly, huh? Can you believe a prissy, high-heeled girl like myself wears them? Me neither!

I told Kristen when we started the race that I wanted us to finish together. I have seen people cross the finish line at Disney races before holding their hands up in the air. I had envisioned us doing this . . . big sister with little sister. I knew this may be my only chance for us to do a 1/2 marathon together with as busy as life gets . . . so I really wanted to savor it.

I'm not big on running with my ipod. I had it just in case, but I really like to soak everything in. People really come up with some clever outfits and team names and sayings. Here are some of my favorites . . . .

** one team I saw was called Skinnie Minnie Wannabes.

** one precious team I saw called Team Flip Flops was a mother/daughter team. the daughter clearly had a foot disability and was leaning on her mom for support to walk fast (you must keep a 16 minute/mile pace or they will pick you up). It was precious. It really moved my heart and made me shout outloud, "Go Team Flip Flops, Whoo, Hoo"

**another lady apparently had lost a bunch of weight and had ribbons pinned to her back marking each 10 pounds she had lost. I made extra sure to congratulate her.

** one lady had on the back of her shirt a quote that said, "Run like its almost midnight." I LOVED that!!

See? There is so much to take in. I don't want to miss any of it while beebopping to the tunes on my ipod.

Kris loved her ipod though, so we talked a little but not a whole lot. I don't just talk when I'm still. I talk when I'm running too. It makes me go faster in my mind.

At about mile 8 my knee was killing me. I stopped and rubbed Biofreeze on it and went to the bathroom. Kristen kept running. Anybody who runs knows how hard it is to catch someone 20 seconds ahead of you. What if they are out of sight? I immediately thought of my Prince Charming, and I knew I had to run like the wind to make him proud. I couldn't let Kristen beat me.

Jon and Jonathan would get texted on their cell phone by the Disney people when we made it to certain check points. Jonathan got his text first at around mile 9. About a minute and a half later Jon got his. This was the last checkpoint before the finish line. They both knew for whatever reason I was behind and Kris was ahead.

I ran like the wind, and I do mean the wind. . . I got between a 7 and 8 mile a minute pace between miles 9 and 10. Do y'all know how hard it is to run that fast after you've been running 8 to 9 miles? I was on a runner's high. I caught Kristen and actually passed her. She told me I had to slow down, she couldn't keep that pace. I swatted the competitive monster inside of me and slowed down like a good big sister should.

I was loving mile 12-13. It was great. I would start screaming and encouraging other runners. Who I thought I was, I have no idea. . . maybe the Jillian or Bob wannabe in me? Kristen said it sounded like war cries. It really made you forget about your pain and run fast. We were rounding mile 13 heading for the 0.1 and out of nowhere here comes this short girl that is dressed like me. No way, Jose, she was NOT going to beat me. We were going at it neck and neck.

Jon saw us. He was so proud to see me there with her. Everyone else was jogging along and Kristen and I were burning rubber. He told me he got teary-eyed and when I crossed the finish line he just teared up telling himself, "I'm not going to be like Granddaddy. I'm not going to be like Grandaddy." (He was talking about his Dad who is one of the sweetest, most sentimental people I know). I told him I knew now his love language was competition. Since this blog is for me to remember I have to say here that when we got home and downloaded the information on Jon's GPS watch that I was wearing we were running between a 4.5 and 5.5 minute mile.

We did it. . . together. She actually boxed me in, though I know she didn't mean to so her time was literally 1 second better than mine. Kristen was so sweet. She started crying. I was so very proud of her and honored that I was apart of that very special moment for her.

Next time little sister, bring it on, because it is every woman/girl/princess, whatever, for herself!!

So how'd we do?

Out of 60 sister/sister teams we came in 13th.

Out of 6324 people I placed 1019 and Kris was 1018.

Our time was 2:06:48. It could have been better, but I pulled out my big sister authority and made her stop along the running route and take pictures with the princesses. I told her one day she'd be glad I made her. . . . and she is.

I think a big "myth" about these races is that you have to be some kind of athelete to run them. NO! Wrong! You just have to train . . . no matter how big, little, fat, skinny you are. If you want to run then there are NO excuses. After I saw that precious girl with the disability (Team Flip Flops) I knew that ANYBODY can do this, ANYBODY. I'm a skinny girl, but trust me, I'm no athlete, just ask my hubby. I'm just determined and disciplined enough to do it . . . which anybody can be that!!! There were all shapes and sizes of women out there running/walking 13.1 miles - I LOVED THAT!!! People out there that were not afraid to start and train and do what needed to be done in order to accomplish a goal. . . okay enough fit girl talk for now, but I just had to dispell that myth.