I am no veteran to runDisney races.  I only have two under my belt.  After this weekend I will have added two more.  I love Disneyland and I love to run.  For my first experience, I didn’t know what to expect.  And since I had no preconceived notions or expectations, it was awesome.  Now that I have (limited) experience, I feel so much pressure and stress! (All brought on by myself of course).  First, there’s the “putting together of the costume”.  I mean, you don’t have to run in costume, but what the heck, right?  You choose your favorite Disney character or your favorite super hero or whatever and you can get away with it for these races.  (Themed races seem to be all the rage these days, but that’s another post for another day.)

So I’ve been planning my costume ideas for months only to find that my original idea is not working out so well.  So I’m trying to come up with another solution, but I really only have 2 working days left.  Anyway…..

Then there’s the “GET TO THE EXPO VERY EARLY SO THAT YOU CAN GET THE MERCHANDISE THAT YOU WANT!!!!” threats.  I had early access to the expo for my last experience and it was really nice.  This time I’m not so lucky, so now I’m stressing about that.  And the lines and the crowds.  You might say “well why in the h*ll did you sign up for the races in the first place then?!?!?”.  Well it’s because….

I love Disneyland and I love to run.

I realized that the less I know about something, the less I stress about it.  When you lop on all sorts of information?  That’s when I start to get information overload and start to stress out.  Take my virgin experience.  I wasn’t worried about lines or sweeper vans or the dreaded balloon ladies that keep the 16 min/mile pace after the last corral starts (gulp!).  But now, all of this social networking has me in a tizzy with peoples’ posts about this and that and where meetups are and who’s wearing what and what they’re buying.

The other thing that I realized about myself…. Is that I love the thought of Disney.  I know it sounds stupid.  That’s okay.  But I honestly tear up every time I see that famed castle at the beginning of every Disney movie.  I get a lump in my throat whenever I hear When You Wish Upon a Star.  I have a mouse ear necklace that I try to wear every day (except when I’m running so that I don’t ruin it) so that I can keep that magic with me wherever I go.

So my new plan is (at least for the next 4 days) is to just keep on believing in that magic.  To not stress about what I can’t control and just have fun!  Because that’s really what it’s all about right?  And life should be fun.

I’m gonna kick a$$ at this Dumbo Double Dare and it’s gonna be fun and awesome.