The full race report and travel report (along with photos) will be coming soon.

But until then, some early thoughts after running the Disney Half Marathon on Saturday:

1. Heading into the race, I was dealing with plantar fasciitis in my right foot. For the record, my coach would have preferred I didn’t run, but knew that with the amount of work (and amount of money) put into this event, I would want to at least try it.. The agreement was that I would stop running if I felt any pain. But my goal of a sub-2 hour marathon was long gone, both with trying to be mindful of my foot and with the mental game of ping pong of how I should run. Never underestimate the amount of energy your mind can use up.

2. While I love Body Glide and use it often with good results, it failed me by Mile 4 on this run. My inner thighs started to chafe. Badly. If you’re a runner, your immediate reaction probably was a sympathetic recoil. If you’re not a runner, trust me, this hurt me more than the tightness in my foot.

3. The race began with Mark and my first three miles were great. Then nature called me to duck into a port-a-potie. Then my thigh chaffing was starting to bother me. Then my foot, while not in pain, was feeling stiff. By Mile 7 I pulled over to the side of the road, started to walk and cried a bit. Within a tenth of a mile I had let out fears, my disappointment and judgement.

4. The last half of the race involved much walking — something to embrace. The sun was starting to rise. And while the magic of the parks had pretty much been finished (much of the course is on highway and access roads) I embraced the experience. Objective goals were no longer important. Enjoying the race, the fact that I was able to run at all, the fact that I was at Disney and among so many people who believed in the magic of the venue, well that kept me in the moment.

5. My final time: 2 hours and 12 minutes. While not verified, I believe that is my second fastest half-marathon to date. Not bad considering I surrendered to the walk-run for the last four miles (though, for the record, I ran the final 1.1 miles). I listened to my body, remembering it has much wisdom to share with me — like the fact that magic often comes in subtle, subjective ways.