just me.: jingle jungle 5k.

(I know I am so late in posting this, but I still wanted to do it! It's a fun look back!)

Back in November, Mickey's Jingle Jungle 5k was my first Disney 5k to participate in! It was also the morning of the Wine and Dine Half (which was later that night). So this was my first ever double race day!

I arrived at the 5k way too early, in hindsight I would have left later. I was on one of the first buses at 5 a.m. and we got to the start area by 5:30, maybe even earlier. I didn't know what to expect, having only done the half marathons where you walk forever to get to your corral! Here, it was drop and there you are! I hung out a bit, just watching all the costumes go by, and keeping busy people watching. Soon it was time to get in the corrals for the start!

My goal was to just go easy and enjoy the characters to save my legs for the half marathon later that night. I had intended to train by doing 2 runs a day, but that never happened. So this truly was my first time ever having to do 2 runs in one day! My training leading up to this was minimal, due to a lack of it over the summer/fall, and then having gotten sick not long before the trip to Florida. I was totally winging these races!

I was in corral B, the second group to start. As the sun rose over the horizon, corral A set off on their jungle adventure. Not long after, my corral set off, and I was running my first Disney 5K!! I was excited!

The start line was in the far end of the Animal Kingdom parking lot, then we ran around the perimeter, toward the main entrance to the park. I was excited to see the Christmas tree, it was my first glimpse of the holiday decorations at Disney World!

{entering Animal Kingdom where the fun really starts!}

{the tree of life}

We ran into the park, toward the Tree of Life, with a left turn into Africa!

This is where the characters started! All the characters were in their safari gear with a holiday twist!

{Rafiki from Lion King!!!}

{Turk from Tarzan!!}

{King Louie from Jungle Book}

We made our way from Africa over toward Asia, past Expedition Everest.

We ran by Dinoland, back to the front part near the Tree of Life.

Then we turned into a backstage area, and ran down a road I never thought would end, which was a turn around road, and directly in the sun. It was kinda blinding, and hot! There were a few stops along the way, with more characters!

{Donald Duck!}

{Pluto!!}

It was in the Pluto line where I ran into Melissa, an instagram friend, for the second time all weekend! I ran into her at the expo as well! It was so fun seeing her not once but twice! Hi Melissa!

Then it was on to the finish! It was getting pretty warm out there, with the sun fully out now!

{pushing full speed to the finish!!}

I crossed the finish line in 44:48! My longest 5k ever, but that is ok, I stopped for pictures and took my time. I dodged people the whole time as well. It was a fun run!

I found my bff's husband who also ran the 5k (and won it, unofficially since it is an untimed race)! Who does that?! He is speedy! Then I got in the super long line for a picture with Minnie and Mickey, and who did I run into again?! Instagram friend Melissa! As I stood there I felt a tap on my shoulder, and turned around to see her, again! This time we captured it! It was fun to chat with her in line! It was so nice meeting you Melissa, and how random each time it was!

{instagram and now real life, friends!}

{Mickey and Minnie!}

Then we were off to meet our families for some fun times in Animal Kingdom, before we headed back to our resort to rest up for the Wine and Dine Half!