Avengers Half Marathon and Technology

My recap of The Avengers Half Marathon and November 16th's "Technology" in my November Photo Challenge.

The technology I choose is Instagram. This app really makes my pictures look 10 times better than they do in real life. Blogging would be much less aesthetically pleasing without it. I will show you the pre and post Instragram-glaming of every picture from the half marathon.

I was suppose to run this race with my boyfriend, Huan, but his training was derailed after a pretty serious car accident in August. He's fine but training was sort of out of the questions. I ran for fun, not wanting to injury myself after my recent 50k. What a better place to run for fun than Disneyland!

I ran the race as Captain America. My costume wasn't an exact replica by any means but I think it got the point across.

I scored some awesome Nike deals at the expo and took a picture with my favorite Avenger.

Before and after Instagram...

We stayed at the Hilton Anaheim. I highly recommend it. It was walking distance (less than .5 mile) to the start and included free continental breakfast that was pretty amazing post run.

Here's the flat me (never forget the body glide)...

Before and after Instagram...

All dress and ready to at 4 am. The race started at 5:30 am before the Park opens. Despite being up so early, I was wide awake and excited. My boyfriend, on the other hand, was not. I woke him up to take this picture and then he quickly fell back asleep.

Before and after Instagram...

I met friend Amy outside the hotel and we walked over to the start. Disney puts on a super exciting race. We were greeted with announcers, Avenger super heroes, and fireworks... pretty amazing for the start of the race.

The first three miles were in the Park. Everything was lit up, decorated for Christmas, and some characters were riding the merry-go-rounds. We ran around California Adventure and through Cinderella's Castle. It was pretty magical!

The first few miles in the streets of Anaheim were fun.  The roads were pretty flat and the sun started to come up. I was constantly giggling to myself watching everyone run in costume. If you just happened to stumble upon this marathon in any other place besides Disney, it would look pretty strange.

Around mile 5 the wind really started to pick up. Like serious, run with your eyes closed and head ducked, kind of wind. Approaching the aid stations, you were attacked by rogue cups rolling their way down the street. I even saw a poor guy in a Baymax costume get taken down by the wind. Damn, Santa Anas! We ran into the wind/sandstorm until about mile 9 when we entered the Angel's Stadium. It was pretty neat running around the bases through the baseball field.

The race turned around once we left the ballpark. The wind was at our back and there was only a few miles left. I felt a little more tired than I expected, despite taking it easy. Miles 11.5 to 13.1 were back in the park filled with cheering spectators. I saw my boyfriend around 12.5 and stole a sweaty kiss. Running through the finish line was amazing as always.

Amy and I, looking pretty windblown, with our fancy medals...

Before and after Instagram...

Some of the beautiful Christmas decorating...

Before and after Instagram...

Overall, it was a great day! It's pretty crazy how much better my pictures look with Instagram, huh? Thank goodness for Technology!

Hope you had a great weekend and enjoyed my mini race recap!
See you tomorrow :)