At least it's close to Halloween, right?
My first runDisney race and my first meet up. Luckily I was not paying attention to work and talking to a friend on Facebook about a 1/2 we are going to do on Sunday for our marathon training and saw the post. Can't wait
Ok.... I have 5 items left on my pre-trip checklist (other than actually finish training). I have to print my waiver, book our rental car, print my proof of time, and pack, and Figure Out What To Wear for the race!!!!I know I know... nothing like procrastination. I am not planning a full-on costume. I basically just want to be comfortable and possibly not look too terrible for pics. I really want to wear one of my running skirts because all of my tops fit better with them, but I've never run more than 5 miles in them and I'm not too certain I feel like wearing a skirt for my long run on sunday when it's supposed to be 40-something degrees. So I guess it's just down to color choices.... Was thinking either blue shorts, pink tank (just for fun bold colors), or blue shorts and a yellow tank, along with my Run for Boston bracelet, since the last time I actually ran at disney was the day after the Boston marathon.
So share your race night outfits and costumes (if you have one).
I went all out "patriotic princess" last year which was fun, but I threw off the tiara at the first mile as it kept sliding off my headphones. It was fun getting all blinged out, but the skirt kind of made me crazy after a while. Why the heck did I decide to go Sleeping Beauty for the January Half??? 
This is NOT the time for me to lose my motivation. All of that has combined to give me zero motivation to go out and run. I haven't run in a week and last week's run was only 3.5 miles
. I can run today and Thursday this week. I was worried about doing a long run (7-10 miles) today because I haven't gone that distance in over 2 weeks. OTOH, if I did a short run today, then I will be forced to do a longer one on Thursday, regardless of the weather or the family plans (kids have no school and DH and I are both off
).
I got motivated today and decided to run for about an hour and see how I felt. I started out a little later than I'd planned so I was looking at being able to go an hour and a half, at most. I focused hard on thinking "keep it slow and steady" because I did not want to overdo it too fast. It's only 45 degrees out with a bit of a breeze so I didn't want to stress my freezing cold muscles. I did one of my regular routes and I found that I was neither in pain/discomfort or out of breath at any time. I did a totally new interval today...walk 4/run 10...and I really liked it. I wasn't too fond of the HUGE uphill climb (I believe it is 150' over a 1/2 mile
At the 1 hour mark, I had a choice of heading home or doing a different loop which would have been another 3-3.5 miles. Since I was feeling pretty good, I didn't want to ruin it so I decided to call it good. I finished 5.03 miles in 1:02.38 for a 12:27 pace. I hit my target time and my target pace so I am happy. I am not sore or tired so all is good. I am not sure if I want to try for 8-10 on Thursday. I *really* think I need to get in at least one more run (if not 2) that are in the 9-12 mile range. I have only done 12 three times (and felt pretty crappy after all of them), but I know that I will be able to finish the 13.1.
I think that is why my motivation is starting to dry up a bit. When I started training, the concept of being able to complete 13.1 miles seemed completely crazy. My goal all along has been to build up my endurance and keep a pace at or below 13:00/mile. I have succeeded in going 12 miles at a 12:30 pace so I am 100% sure that I will be able to complete the race ahead of the sweepers. Because of that, I am starting to lose motivation to keep running. I already know I can do it at my target goal. It's too late in the game to change that goal now. I don't want to set a time goal because I don't want any disappointment. I want to feel like I have achieved something when I cross that finish line and not have any feelings of falling short of a goal. The goal is to finish...that's it!
Time to get cracking on the packing. Only 16 days until we leave.
the shirts!!! I know Team #runDisney is getting together for pics at the back of the info booth on the runner's side of the field. This is also where the DIS'ers met last year. We can always meet back there again if you guys want. Who would be interested in also meeting up maybe mid-late Friday afternoon?
Probably too warm for wine & dine, but maybe an option should we get some freakish cooler weather.... (Anyone else stalking the weather waiting to get to the 10-day mark???)
Clothing (will it chafe? will it ride up? is it too cold? too warm?), shoes (don't get me started), mp3 player, headphones, sunglasses, garmin, body glide, vaseline (for my toes), water, fuel (for long runs), hat (if raining). 
Just thought I'd share a few ramblings from my run yesterday. It was cool, very brisk, so I put on a new pair of capris (which actually have a skirt attached) and thought, hmmmm these actually look pretty cute. They are from Target, were reasonably priced and i thought, if these work, I'll go get more b/c it's really nice to wear tights without my butt on display! I've actually gotten to the "beyond caring" point
You betcha!
After changing my shirt 4 times (long sleeve? short sleeve? layers? jacket?), I went to get my gear and thought again to myself, how is it that running, a sport that basically requires no sports equipment, still manages to include contemplation of all manner of things?
Anyhow, my old headphones need to be replaced, they are falling apart. So I bought new ones last weekend. Time to try them out yesterday.
So I headed out the door, ready to enjoy the cool weather and the fall folliage... And spent the next 45 min trying to keep my earbuds in and my pants from falling down.
Moral of the story: What you read is correct - NOTHING new on race day!
Bonus lesson: You may RUN faster in cooler temps, but HILLS don't suddenly evaporate along with the humidity.
Coach:If we want to do a pre race day meetup somewhere, do you know if we need to let the place know ahead of time if we do it at a restaurant or someplace like that? Or, for someplace like the patio under the back stairs at the Boardwalk?
For sure, we'll have a photo op just before the start.
He was still able to get into the after-party with no issues. Realistically, the admission to the after party was paid for with the race registration, so as long as he picks up his race packet, he should be able to get in easily. Since he had his bib, he was also able to come hang out with me in the runners area at the start.
My DH got sick just in time to have to pull out at the last minute last year.
Forgive my blonde moment here...do you walk by that when you go to pick up your race packet? If it is, that's just a short walk across the parking lot to the field/starting area, isn't it?
