Wednesday 9/19
After work, I made the usual drive up to LAX to catch a flight out to Charles de Gaulle Airport. Once again I reserved parking at the Airport Center Express parking structure next to the Crowne Plaza hotel. After getting dropped off at the Tom Bradley International Terminal, I checked-in via one of the kiosks and got in line for TSA screening. The cheap airfare didn't allow me to pick a seat, so I was assigned a middle seat in the middle row. Once I got through TSA, I looked for the best or cheapest food option which turned out to be KFC. It wasn't the best, but it was certainly the cheapest.
Flying with Norwegian Air
Dinner from KFC
After finishing my meal, I stopped in at the CNN Newsstand to buy a 1 liter bottle of water before heading to the gate. I didn't plan on purchasing food or drinks for the duration of the flight, but I still needed water to keep myself hydrated.
During the flight, I watched Collateral Beauty. This was my first time seeing it. Never saw it before. This was supposed to be a tear-jerker and it seemed to have a lot of potential to be a really good movie, but there were too many side stories running simultaneously. Some of those stories just fizzled out unresolved. For me, there were just too many loose ends for it to be considered a good film.
Thursday 9/20
The plane landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport just after 3 pm local time at Terminal 1. After finding a restroom, it was then a very long wait to get through immigration. It took a while before they opened a few more lines to get everyone processed. Once I got through, I made my way over to the shuttle stop to catch the Magical Shuttle over to Disneyland Paris. I thought I'd try this cheaper mode of transportation this year instead of the usual train. Unfortunately the bus just left as I got there. I had to wait another hour for the next shuttle. According to the shuttle schedule, they ran more frequently over at Terminal 2. I was a bit tired so I decided to stay put at Terminal 1. The bus ride took a little over 1 hr compared to the train which only takes about 10 minutes, but costs almost twice as much. The bus had complimentary WiFi, so it wasn't too bad.
Magical Shuttle schedule
We've arrived!
The first stop was at the Disneyland Paris Hotel. I wasn't sure how many stops there were before arriving at the Chessy bus station, so I got off and started heading over to the Disney Events Arena just beyond the Disney Village.
The entrance into the expo was once again very well organized as they had separate lanes for you to walk through depending on how prepared you are with the necessary documents for packet pick-up. The first booth that I came up to was for the Castle to Chateau Challenge. After they confirmed my status, they put on the usual challenge bracelet around my wrist and gave me a button pin.
Expo schedule
Castle to Chateau Challenge bracelet
Castle to Chateau Challenge pin
After that I walked over to the 36k Challenge booth where I picked up my bib and race shirts. Before leaving, I had to take a picture with my bib so that they can confirm my identity as the bib owner on race day. I thought the shirts were pretty nice as the graphics were sublimated which should reduce the amount of chafing and hot spots.
5k shirt
10k shirt
Half Marathon shirt
31k Challenge shirt
36k Challenge Shirt
Before heading into the rest of the expo and the official merchandise, I first ducked into the restroom. I thought it was pretty cool that they had installed door handles for each stall with indicators to let you know whether or not they were occupied.
I was planning to buy the Castle to Chateau Challenge shirt, but it was the same identical graphics as last year's shirt. The only thing they changed was the year, so I decided not to buy it. Apparently I was pretty tired from the flight and had forgotten that I had already pre-purchased a PhotoPass during registration. I went ahead and paid for it again at the expo. I didn't realize my mistake until about a week after I got home while going through my receipts.
The expo was a lot smaller this year with very few vendor booths. Before leaving the expo, I went over to the participant wall to find my name on it.
Before heading over to my hotel, I stopped by the nearby McDonald's in the Disney Village to get a quick dinner. It was extremely crowded and once again, the ordering kiosks were not accepting foreign credit cards, so pretty much everyone had to get in line to order from one of the cashiers. With my extremely limited French, I ordered the Royale with Cheese with some pomme frites and a bottle of water.
Royale with Cheese
After finishing my meal, I made the walk over to my hotel for the weekend. For the third year in a row, I stayed at the Hipark at the nearby town called, Serris. I normally book the cheapest room possible, but this year they weren't available. I had to pay a little bit more which allowed me to sleep on an actual bed instead of a hide-a-bed. Otherwise the room was pretty much the same. I was pretty pooped, so I went to sleep after talking a shower.
Friday 9/21
Since I was pretty tired yesterday, I decided to go back to the expo to see if I missed anything worth buying. I really thought about purchasing the 36k Challenge "I Did It!" shirt. Thank goodness I came to my senses because I know that I have way too many race shirts are home already!
Welcome to Disneyland Paris!
Before heading back, I had a quick lunch at the Earl of Sandwich. I got the Le Frenchy sandwich. I figured that I should eat something else besides McDonald's. Without the normal deals that were readily available on the McDonald's app back home, it was actually somewhat expensive to eat there.
Le Frenchy
After I was done, I headed back to the hotel. Before going back to my room, I walked over to the Val d'Europe shopping center to buy snacks and stuff at Auchan. I bought a bag of mixed nuts, pistachios, pasta, Bolognese sauce, and some water all for a little under 7 €. Since my room had a kitchenette, I figured that I could further save money by cooking simple stuff instead of eating out.
Snacks and stuff from the market
Back at my room, I laid out my flat runner for tonight's 5k. I passed the time while watching TV and eating the snacks that I had bought.
5k flat runner
Once the start of the race approached, I got ready and made the walk over to the Newport Bay Club Resort. There was a little bit of a chill in the air, so I had on my arm sleeves. This year they had the corrals just to the side of the Disney Event Center. I was there a bit early, so I waited for my friend to arrive before going past the bib check line. After using one of the stand-up urinals, we went to our separate corrals. My friend was assigned corral C. Thankfully I was assigned corral A. They really need to fix the corral assignments because there were people there that clearly had no business being in corral A!
Once our corral was opened, people were running and pushing to be up front. During the pre-race entertainment, they had an onscreen appearance by Iron Man! Perhaps they've reached an agreement with IM Triathlon to use the name. They also attempted to get the runners to participate in the ridiculous warm-up exercises.
Hey! It's Iron Man!
5k Start line
The first mile was a bit of a pain as I had to navigate around people that were walking and it didn't help that the course started with a sharp right turn into the Disney Village. I didn't run all out, but I did put out an honest effort. It actually felt good to run hard. The first mile took us into Walt Disney Studios. The second mile had us briefly in Disneyland Park before exiting and running on some back lot roads. I could see up ahead was Paula Radcliffe and her entourage. I was catching up to them and eventually overtook them during the final mile. I thought I had surged enough ahead of them, but during the final stretch, I could hear them closing in really quickly. I didn't have enough in my legs to hold off her daughter. I guess she had gotten her revenge for me passing her near the finish line two years ago at the inaugural race. :)
Chicked!
Finish: 22:19
Click here for my Garmin data.
I congratulated her daughter and got to shake Paula's hand. I'm pretty sure that I won't be able to catch them next year if they run again unless I train myself to be able to run a sub 20.Relive 'Disneyland Paris 5k'
Paula Radcliffe!
After receiving my finisher medal, I got a couple of drinks and headed down the finisher chute. I was also given a snack box and a banana. I must say, I do miss receiving those runDisney snack boxes! I would polish off the contents of the box back at my room.
Post race snack box
5k medal
After I got cleaned up, I laid out my flat runner for the 10k tomorrow morning. It felt incredibly strange to have run a night race only to turn around and prepare for another race in the morning. I decided to cook some of the pasta. The stove top was heated by induction, but it had trouble bringing the water to a boil. After waiting for a while, I just decided to dump the pasta into the water which actually brought the water to a boil. I was pretty much lights out as soon as I was done eating the pasta.
10k flat runner
Late dinner
Saturday 9/22
The temperature was in the 40's, so in addition to the arm sleeves, I brought along one of my mylar blankets. It was pretty much the same routine as yesterday. Today I checked out their portapotties which was a bit fancier than the ones that I've used back home. It even had a pedal for you to flush! I made sure to get into my corral a little bit earlier so that I could get closer to the front. The pre-race entertainment had Megara with Pain and Panic. Paula Radcliffe was brought out for a few words. After yesterday's race, she made sure to caution the runners about that first sharp turn.
Fancy portapotty!
10k start line
Megara with Pain and Panic
After that sharp right turn, it was a straight shot through the Disneyland Paris entrance arch before turning left into Walt Disney Studios. Then we would make a u-turn to make our way over to the Disneyland park for the next 3 or so miles. I stopped for my one and only picture stop with King Louie. The second 5k would be mostly on the back roads on the outskirts of the Walt Disney Studios park. I kept up the same effort and pace for the most part until the last mile where I just felt like I ran out of gas. Thankfully only that last mile felt like a grind.
King Louie
10k finish line
Finish: 46:53
Click here for my Garmin data.
That was the fastest that I've run a 10k in quite some time. It's races like these that gives me hope that I can still one day work towards running a sub 40 min 10k among other goals such as running a BQ.Relive 'Disneyland Paris 10k'
Hades was on the stage off to the left just past the finish line. After getting my finisher medal, I made my way through the finisher chute where I picked up the usual snack box, drinks, and banana. After taking the obligatory finish line photo, I started heading back to my hotel. We had to wait for an opening to cross the course as we were not allowed to exit through Avenue Paul Séramy today.
Hades!
10k medal
Back at my room, I watched a bit of TV while eating the contents of the snack box. Most of the news was dominated by the discussion on how to implement Brexit. There were disagreements between parties within the UK as well as with the European Union. I thought it was quite interesting to listen to the political issues of other countries for a change.
Nonstop Brexit in the news
After I took a shower and got cleaned up. I started making my way over to the Val d'Europe station to catch the RER A train into Paris. Once I got to the station, I got in line to purchase a zone 5, 1 day pass for 17,80 €. I wasn't sure what my friends had in mind, so this was just an easier way to cover the transportation costs. We decided on meeting up at the Arc de Triomphe. It was about an hour train ride, so I was able to get a quick little snooze.
Once I arrived at the Charles de Gaulle - Étoile station, I took the underground tunnel over to the monument. I was actually fine with just visiting the ground level, but they wanted to take the stairs up to the top. The cost was 12,00 € per person. I must say that that was way more steps than I had expected to get to the top. I was pretty pooped. It was nowhere near the height of the Empire State Building, but the views were somewhat similar. It was a pretty nice experience to get up there as there were museum stops along the way. Before leaving, we checked out the tribute to the unknown soldier.
Meeting up with friends
Climbing stairs to the top
Sacré-Cœur off in the distance
Av. des Champs-Élysées
Eiffel Tower
Tribute to the unknown soldier
After crossing through the underground tunnel back to the other side, we walked down Ave des Champs Élysées stopping at Louis Vuitton for my friends to check out their merchandise. I didn't bother going in because everything was way out of my price point. Afterwards, my friends wanted to get something to eat, so we walked a bit before getting a table at Au Bureau. My friends ordered a bunch of appetizers and some a couple flights of beer while I just drank some afternoon tea.
Afternoon tea, Earl Grey
Mini corn dog
After we settled the bill, we walked over to the nearby Disney Store because my friends wanted to buy souvenirs for their children. I was kind of surprised that it was super-crowded inside. After a while, I tried to find a quiet spot in the store to relax and wait while my friends pay for their items.
After we were done, we headed over to the Franklin D. Roosevelt station to catch the Metro. It started to drizzle outside. Once we arrived at the Metro station, we went our separate ways. I took the number 1 train back over to the Charles de Gaulle - Étoile station to catch the RER A back to Val d'Europe.
Once I got back to my hotel, I took a much needed nap. I didn't go back out again. Before cooking up some dinner, I laid out my flat runner. For dinner, I cooked the rest of the pasta. It was a tad bit more pasta that I had expected, but I had no problem putting it away.
Half marathon flat runner
Finishing off the pasta
Sunday 9/23
I overslept my alarms by a little, so I got a late start. To make matters much worse, my back gave out on me as I was picking up my shorts. The sharp pain hit me as if someone had stabbed me with a hot knife! I know I usually have back issues when it is raining or about to rain, but it has been quite some time since it hurt this bad! I was very tempted to bag the race and take a DNS. However I thought to myself that I had flown all of this way to France, I should at least see if I could jog/walk the race.
My back was incredibly stiff. It felt as if the top half of my body wasn't quite connected to the bottom half. I had trouble even putting on my shoes and tying the laces, but I decided to give it a go and started heading for the starting area. Coincidentally I bumped into my friend while I headed to use the portapotties. Then as I was heading into my corral, I just so happened to bump into my other friend who was wearing a Marie costume from the Aristocats. Her running costumes are always among the best!
Cruella de Vil and I don't know who that is...
Half marathon start line
I originally planned for today to be picture day, but now with the lower back problem, I would have to play it by ear. The first mile felt awkward and I just tried to keep a steady comfortable pace. Just like yesterday, we first headed into Walt Disney Studios. I kind of got tired of being crowded, so I started running faster to get around people during the second mile as we started making our way over to the Disneyland Park. Unfortunately the adrenaline began to wear off and it started becoming quite uncomfortable. I took my one and only picture stop at around mile 4 which was right before leaving the park.
My friend caught up to me while we running along Boulevard de l'Europe. After getting to the roundabout at Avenue Robert Schuman, I was able to spot Paula Radcliffe just about at mile 10, heading back to the park for the finish line. Shortly after crossing the 10k mark, we made a left turn onto Rue du Moulin À Vent followed by another left turn at Rue des Labours. Then at Rue Boucle des Hesperides, we turned left and headed North for a loop around a small lake. This section was a bit slick as we ran across some grass and gravel dirt paths. After the loop around the lake, we started back-tracking, heading back to the Avenue Robert Schuman roundabout. Before heading straight back, we ran heading South for a short out and back on Boulevard de l'Europe. I started having the usual left foot problems as I reached Disney's Hotel Santa Fe. I had to take several walk breaks to help alleviate the discomfort. After a loop around Lac Buena Vista and a little stretch through the Disney Village, we headed back to Walt Disney Studios for the finish line. Boy was I glad to see that finish line!
Half marathon finish line
Finish: 2:05:58
Click here for my Garmin data.
Relive 'Disneyland Paris Half Marathon'
I was so glad and relieved to have finished the race. It was pretty cool to see Mickey Mouse up on the stage at the finish line. I received my finisher medal. It was pretty similar to the ones that I've received in the past 2 years, but this year it was colored. I then proceeded down the finisher chute where I picked up the usual post race drinks and snacks.
Mickey Mouse!
Half marathon medal
After that, I started making my way over to the Disney Event Center to pick up my additional challenge medals. Everything was so well organized. I picked up a medal for each of the challenges before getting my finisher photo taken.
31k Challenge medal
36k Challenge medal
Castle to Chateau Challenge medal
36k Challenge completed!
After that, I started my walk back to my hotel which felt a lot farther with a bad back. The ailing lower back certainly made me feel like an invalid as it was very uncomfortable doing everyday tasks such as taking a shower, sitting down or laying down. Everything was just uncomfortable.
For the rest of the day, I stayed in my room just lounging around and watching TV. However for dinner, I had to suck it up and walk over to the nearby McDonald's for a quick cheap meal. I ordered the Royale Deluxe meal with pomme frites and a bottle of water. I ate it there so as to not accumulate too much trash in my room.
Royale Deluxe
After finishing off my food, I went back to my room and resumed watching more TV. There wasn't much on, so I ended up watching The Hangover Part II which I've seen once before. The story was mostly mindless and crude debauchery, but there were some funny parts. Overall it was just a cash grab, playing off of the popularity of the first movie.
Monday 9/24
My flight home was later in the afternoon, so it was nice not having to get up early and pack. That was definitely a good thing since I was moving pretty slowly with the bad back. I almost forgot about one of the post race drinks I had in the mini-fridge, so I drank that for breakfast. It was delicious!
After checking out of my room, I made the walk over to the Disney Village to buy a souvenir as well as to eat a meal before catching the Magical Shuttle to CDG Airport for my flight home. I ended up buying a nice looking cap from Disney Fashion for 19,99 €. Lately I have been contemplating trading in my usual visor for a trucker cap for my races.
My new running late hat
I then walked over to the McDonald's to eat lunch. I ordered a Big Mac meal with pomme frites and a bottle of water. The Big Mac was good, but tasted quite different from what I'm used to eating back at home.
Big Mac
After finishing my food, I walked over to the Chessy bus station to catch the Magical Shuttle to the airport. Sure the bus took longer than taking the train, but it was a nice and relaxing ride. I got off at Terminal 1. I found the Norwegian Airlines check-in counter to get checked-in and get my seat assignment. They first checked my passport and asked me a few travel questions. I was fortunate enough to get assigned an aisle seat.
Since I didn't pre-purchase or plan to purchase any meals during the direct flight home, I decided to eat again at the McDonald's before boarding my flight. I placed my order with one of the kiosks and was given a locator card, but my food was never brought out to me nor was my number called. I think they must have deleted it. One of the employees saw that I had been waiting for a while so she decided to check for me. It was indeed deleted, so they finally got my food for me. For this meal, I ordered a Double Filet-o-Fish with tater tots and a bottle of water.
Locator card
Double Filet-o-Fish with tater tots
As soon as I was done with my food, I headed for my gate to go through security check. I must make a mental note to remember not to pack the race medals all stacked together in any of my bags. Next year, I'll be sure to put them in a separate bag and bin. The x-ray machine made it look like I had a landmine in my backpack! So obviously they pulled the bag to exam all of the contents as well as to swab it to test for any explosive residue.
During the long flight home, I ended up binge watching The Big Bang Theory episodes from season 10 where it ended with Sheldon proposing to Amy in the finale. I don't think I've seen all of the episodes all the way through for that season. It was good to finally catch up a bit with this show.
About halfway home
Cool cabin lights
Getting through customs at LAX has started to get much easier since we no longer have to fill out those paper declaration forms. Practically the entire process is now done with automated machines. We used them to take our photo and to answer the standard customs declaration questions. Sure the lines were long, but they were moving fast. I really don't see the need to sign up for Global Entry.
Well, that was my 3rd consecutive year of running the Disneyland Paris Half Marathon. This race weekend was kind of an example of how this year has been for me. I was running well for the first 2 races, then my back gave out where I almost didn't even get the chance to run the half marathon. Hopefully my body will hold up for me to reach at least year 5. I will certainly be looking forward to my annual trip to Paris for the foreseeable future.
