Official 2015 Disney Marathon Thread

[miker1251]

DW & I will be running our first half marathon during WDW weekend. Obviously as newer runners, we didn't have a time to submit from a long enough race, but we hoped to get a 10K under our belt as part of our half training before the submission cut-off date. We're pretty slow, so no grand expectations - we were just hoping to avoid the last corral (or 2 if we could swing it).

Because DW had to be out of town this weekend, we found a local 10K to run last weekend. DW did great! Her Disney projected finish time was right at 3:00. I, on the other hand, had a stomach bug all week leading up to the race & had a terrible run. It was seriously a victory just to finish - LOL! Normally I would take the moral victory and move on, but the main reason we ran the race was trying to get a satisfactory proof of time to submit. (my projected time would have been around 3:27 - almost the max pace - yikes!!)

To try to salvage things, I signed up to run the biggest loser 6 flags 10K this morning. At first things looked good - pretty flat race, stomach was feeling much better all week, AND a COLD FRONT moved in around Friday. (BIG difference for me running with temps in the 60s vs the 80s) I felt great this morning, and ran a pretty strong race by my standards. Runkeeper tracked my pace around 13min/mile, & I even finished top three in my age group. (OK - so there weren't that many in my age group, but I'll take it - LOL)

So the first sign that things were off: Despite my solid pace, as I got near the end of the race, I noticed the overall time wasn't adding up to my pace. I pushed hard through the finish line, and almost immediately pulled out my phone to check what was up. Everything seemed fine, except the total distance was .41mile further than 10K?!!! It was pretty open course, and its not like I had to zig-zag around people all morning - I pretty much was able to run my race without any other runners in my way. Sure enough, I heard from a handful of other runners that their GPS tracked the course as longer than 10K. My just over 13min/mile pace turned into a 14min/mile pace once I saw my final numbers. I just submitted my proof of time & Disney has me at 3:11.

In the grand scheme of things, this is about where I thought I might be, but I also knew if a had a good run I could pull a slightly better time. The frustrating thing is that I had that good run, but because their course was off (they apparently had made a last minute change to it), I'm stuck submitting a time worse than what I actually did.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still very happy with my run today - just FRUSTRATED that it didn't translate into a better proof of time all because their course was apparently off.

OH Well - nothing I can do now, I just wanted to get that off my chest. Thanks for putting up with my little vent -

USATF is the certifies courses for accuracy. If the race was not certified, it could have been a little longer.

 

[bryana]

Ran 16 miles last night in training for my full in November. Well, according to my watch, it was only 15.25 but I forgot to unpause my watch at a couple of stop lights. I ran out 8 miles so I certainly would hope that I ran back 8 miles considering it is a straight, no frills trail. It went surprisingly well. I got pretty mentally exhausted at the end though, as I ran late in the day and it was dark for the last 4 or 5 miles. Darker than I thought it would be, so it really freaked me out. That mental exhaustion is a funny thing. I felt like just sitting on the ground and throwing a hissy fit because I wasn't done yet.

 

[RnbwSktles]

DW & I will be running our first half marathon during WDW weekend. Obviously as newer runners, we didn't have a time to submit from a long enough race, but we hoped to get a 10K under our belt as part of our half training before the submission cut-off date. We're pretty slow, so no grand expectations - we were just hoping to avoid the last corral (or 2 if we could swing it).

Because DW had to be out of town this weekend, we found a local 10K to run last weekend. DW did great! Her Disney projected finish time was right at 3:00. I, on the other hand, had a stomach bug all week leading up to the race & had a terrible run. It was seriously a victory just to finish - LOL! Normally I would take the moral victory and move on, but the main reason we ran the race was trying to get a satisfactory proof of time to submit. (my projected time would have been around 3:27 - almost the max pace - yikes!!)

To try to salvage things, I signed up to run the biggest loser 6 flags 10K this morning. At first things looked good - pretty flat race, stomach was feeling much better all week, AND a COLD FRONT moved in around Friday. (BIG difference for me running with temps in the 60s vs the 80s) I felt great this morning, and ran a pretty strong race by my standards. Runkeeper tracked my pace around 13min/mile, & I even finished top three in my age group. (OK - so there weren't that many in my age group, but I'll take it - LOL)

So the first sign that things were off: Despite my solid pace, as I got near the end of the race, I noticed the overall time wasn't adding up to my pace. I pushed hard through the finish line, and almost immediately pulled out my phone to check what was up. Everything seemed fine, except the total distance was .41mile further than 10K?!!! It was pretty open course, and its not like I had to zig-zag around people all morning - I pretty much was able to run my race without any other runners in my way. Sure enough, I heard from a handful of other runners that their GPS tracked the course as longer than 10K. My just over 13min/mile pace turned into a 14min/mile pace once I saw my final numbers. I just submitted my proof of time & Disney has me at 3:11.

In the grand scheme of things, this is about where I thought I might be, but I also knew if a had a good run I could pull a slightly better time. The frustrating thing is that I had that good run, but because their course was off (they apparently had made a last minute change to it), I'm stuck submitting a time worse than what I actually did.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still very happy with my run today - just FRUSTRATED that it didn't translate into a better proof of time all because their course was apparently off.

OH Well - nothing I can do now, I just wanted to get that off my chest. Thanks for putting up with my little vent -

I have learned over time that many races are not certified, even big ones that I thought would be. And even when they are certified, I believe it means that the course just has to be at least that long, not exactly that long. It's very disappointing when that extra distance is the difference between meeting your goals or not!

I had a similar situation with a 5k this weekend. According to my watch (and MapMyRun which came up with a similar distance) the course was actually 3.26 miles. It was a PR for me either way (yay ), but my watch time was over a minute faster than my official time. A minute is a big deal in a 5k!

 

[jerivera]

DW & I will be running our first half marathon during WDW weekend. Obviously as newer runners, we didn't have a time to submit from a long enough race, but we hoped to get a 10K under our belt as part of our half training before the submission cut-off date. We're pretty slow, so no grand expectations - we were just hoping to avoid the last corral (or 2 if we could swing it).

Because DW had to be out of town this weekend, we found a local 10K to run last weekend. DW did great! Her Disney projected finish time was right at 3:00. I, on the other hand, had a stomach bug all week leading up to the race & had a terrible run. It was seriously a victory just to finish - LOL! Normally I would take the moral victory and move on, but the main reason we ran the race was trying to get a satisfactory proof of time to submit. (my projected time would have been around 3:27 - almost the max pace - yikes!!)

To try to salvage things, I signed up to run the biggest loser 6 flags 10K this morning. At first things looked good - pretty flat race, stomach was feeling much better all week, AND a COLD FRONT moved in around Friday. (BIG difference for me running with temps in the 60s vs the 80s) I felt great this morning, and ran a pretty strong race by my standards. Runkeeper tracked my pace around 13min/mile, & I even finished top three in my age group. (OK - so there weren't that many in my age group, but I'll take it - LOL)

So the first sign that things were off: Despite my solid pace, as I got near the end of the race, I noticed the overall time wasn't adding up to my pace. I pushed hard through the finish line, and almost immediately pulled out my phone to check what was up. Everything seemed fine, except the total distance was .41mile further than 10K?!!! It was pretty open course, and its not like I had to zig-zag around people all morning - I pretty much was able to run my race without any other runners in my way. Sure enough, I heard from a handful of other runners that their GPS tracked the course as longer than 10K. My just over 13min/mile pace turned into a 14min/mile pace once I saw my final numbers. I just submitted my proof of time & Disney has me at 3:11.

In the grand scheme of things, this is about where I thought I might be, but I also knew if a had a good run I could pull a slightly better time. The frustrating thing is that I had that good run, but because their course was off (they apparently had made a last minute change to it), I'm stuck submitting a time worse than what I actually did.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still very happy with my run today - just FRUSTRATED that it didn't translate into a better proof of time all because their course was apparently off.

OH Well - nothing I can do now, I just wanted to get that off my chest. Thanks for putting up with my little vent -

Here's more info on this issue:

http://www.runnersworld.com/electronics/is-your-gps-watch-accurate-on-race-day

I'm pretty sure it surprises everyone after their first official race. "Did I run an extra 1/4 - 1/2 mile???". At least everyone's on the same boat! No one will likely ever do 13.1 on an "official" 13.1 race.

 

[faneuil]

Does anyone have the 2014 corral placements by time handy?

I did TofT this weekend, so I was able to submit a time for the 1/2, and I wanted to get an idea of what my estimated 3:03 is going to get me.

Please, please, out of that last corral! (And maybe even the 2nd to last. )

 

[ZellyB]

Does anyone have the 2014 corral placements by time handy?

I did TofT this weekend, so I was able to submit a time for the 1/2, and I wanted to get an idea of what my estimated 3:03 is going to get me.

Please, please, out of that last corral! (And maybe even the 2nd to last. )

This post has the info.

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52013563&postcount=915

 

[faneuil]

This post has the info. http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52013563&postcount=915

Danke!

 

[ZellyB]

Danke!

Bitte!

 

[Weluvdisny]

Thanks for all the advise on what works for some. I know everyone is different so I need to figure out what works for me. What do you guys think of following The Zone for the next 3 months of training? My friend has been talking to me about it and she thinks it would help me eat the right foods at the right time. I was following a low carb diet but I know that with running you need carbs. Can I just add more before/after a run and then go back to my regimen?

Sorry to ask so much about this stuff, I want to start eating better but also make sure I have enough energy to make it 26.2 miles!

 

[Nole95]

Here's the photo of all the medals.

 

[princessbride6205]

Here's more info on this issue: http://www.runnersworld.com/electronics/is-your-gps-watch-accurate-on-race-day I'm pretty sure it surprises everyone after their first official race. "Did I run an extra 1/4 - 1/2 mile???". At least everyone's on the same boat! No one will likely ever do 13.1 on an "official" 13.1 race.

I've had a few funny moments with running extra tenths. In our first marathon, my friend was struggling towards the end. We were somewhere in World Showcase when I noticed we had already hit 26.2 miles on my watch. I told her she had already completed a marathon, she just had to go a little farther for the medal. At the Disneyland Half last year, I was determined to get a PR, so I studied the course map for the most efficient route. hehe

Although I will say that I've done a certified 10k that was a full quarter mile short! Someone must have put the turnaround cone a little too close.

I can't remember if I've posted in this thread, but it's definitely been awhile. So...Hi, I'm Nicole, and I'm doing my first Goofy (which is my 2nd marathon, 9th half).

 

[Mgslalala]

Morning all,
We've had a sudden drop in the temperature in the uk, autumn is definitely here! It's got me thinking about training for a marathon through the winter for a marathon that could take place in temperatures of around 68 degrees. The average temp in London during most of my training will be around 40 degrees (colder if the wind and rain get up). That's a pretty big swing and from past experience I know that a sudden increase in heat on race day can have adverse effects on my time. Anyone got any training methods to combat this? I've tried running in a sweatsuit in the past but frankly anything over a 10km it becomes pretty foul....
Any suggestions welcome because I do think I'm going to find that temperature swing a killer in January... Not that I'll be complaining for the rest of the holiday!
Cheers

 

[ksueboo]

That mental exhaustion is a funny thing. I felt like just sitting on the ground and throwing a hissy fit because I wasn't done yet.

Yes! This is me on every long run! And I am training for the half not the full. The mental game is a bigger challenge than the physical most times.

 

[ksueboo]

I am not sure if this question is right for this thread but for those who have run in previous runDisney events... What will our timing look like for the rest of the day? Here are my specifics...running the half, let's say I am in corral I and we start at 6:30ish, with photo op stops I think I will finish around 9:15, but let's say 9:30 to be safe. What time should I expect to get back to a MK resort? We are trying to plan FP+ times and meals etc. I just have no idea how to plan the day, except I know we are going to a park.

 

[StarGirl11]

Been meaning to post since last week's race. So I am officially stuck with whatever a proof of finishing time of 5:51 gets me.

Piece of advice: Don't use Albuquerque races to try to improve times. Not that they aren't great races. They just aren't a good place to try and improve one's time. They like to make their races hilly.

Half of that darn race was pretty much uphill. Which at first seems great because the majority of the other half is downhill. Except that's the first half and by the time you make the turn around, your pretty tired. By the time I got to the turn around I knew my PR was shot because of bad cramps. And the rest of the muscles were only just starting to get in on the action (by the time I hit the finish it seemed like everything in my legs had hurt at one point or the other).

I think towards the end I was running on sheer willpower. Because I pretty sure I wasn't going to podium anymore (the race was small enough that it was conceivable when I started). And my own stubbornness not to DNF.

Paid off since I somehow did end up placing 3rd. Still not sure how the hell that happened. There were supposed to be five people in my age group. And I was one of the last to finish. Sooo maybe two of them didn't show up? Anyways not complaining. Probably the only time this will happen to me. And made the trip to Albuquerque worth it for me at least.

 

[IamTrike]

Been meaning to post since last week's race. So I am officially stuck with whatever a proof of finishing time of 5:51 gets me.

Piece of advice: Don't use Albuquerque races to try to improve times. Not that they aren't great races. They just aren't a good place to try and improve one's time. They like to make their races hilly.

Half of that darn race was pretty much uphill. Which at first seems great because the majority of the other half is downhill. Except that's the first half and by the time you make the turn around, your pretty tired. By the time I got to the turn around I knew my PR was shot because of bad cramps. And the rest of the muscles were only just starting to get in on the action (by the time I hit the finish it seemed like everything in my legs had hurt at one point or the other).

I think towards the end I was running on sheer willpower. Because I pretty sure I wasn't going to podium anymore (the race was small enough that it was conceivable when I started). And my own stubbornness not to DNF.

Paid off since I somehow did end up placing 3rd. Still not sure how the hell that happened. There were supposed to be five people in my age group. And I was one of the last to finish. Sooo maybe two of them didn't show up? Anyways not complaining. Probably the only time this will happen to me. And made the trip to Albuquerque worth it for me at least.

Congratulations on making the podium. Was there a prize for third place? If so I think you can pretty much start calling yourself a professional runner now.

I have yet to lose my amateur status.

 

[StarGirl11]

Congratulations on making the podium. Was there a prize for third place? If so I think you can pretty much start calling yourself a professional runner now. I have yet to lose my amateur status.

Just a medal designating my placing in my age group:

Admittedly with this race you only got a medal if you podiumed in the division. They had trophies I think for the top overall finishers. I mean I know they had trophies but not sure what they were exactly awarded for.

 

[bryana]

I am not sure if this question is right for this thread but for those who have run in previous runDisney events... What will our timing look like for the rest of the day? Here are my specifics...running the half, let's say I am in corral I and we start at 6:30ish, with photo op stops I think I will finish around 9:15, but let's say 9:30 to be safe. What time should I expect to get back to a MK resort? We are trying to plan FP+ times and meals etc. I just have no idea how to plan the day, except I know we are going to a park.

At Princess in February, I started in H. I think my final finishing time was around 3.5 hours. I don't think that I did any photo ops until I got into MK, where I did 2. That mile alone took me almost 40 minutes. I might have finished faster but ended up having pretty bad knee pain (thanks to minimum training) so I didn't finish as strong as I could have. After the race, we did breakfast in the Race Retreat and then walked over to Epcot to cut through to go back to the hotel (Beach Club). We got to the gate before they had even opened for the day, so we got there around 8:45. I would say that you would be pretty safe booking things for 11am or noon, but I guess it really depends on how long it would take for you to get on the bus/monorail back to your resort. Someone else might be able to help a little more with the timing on that aspect.

 

[skiandrun]

Can we talk about nutrition and what we eat to fuel our body during our training (I don't mean while we run) and the day before/right after we run? What works best for everybody? I want to keep my weight under control while still getting enough, but not too much carbs and calories. Is there a formula, like if you run x amount of miles than you need y carbs?

Thanks for all the advise so far. You guys are the best!!

I am by no means an expert - I've never run a marathon but I've been a pretty serious runner for years. I kind of started to get panicked because it seems like a formula is necessary so I did some research and found some helpful stuff (I'll try to link some articles below) but in the end I kind of realized that you really have to play around with what works for you. For instance I am not good on a lot of wheat based products but I get a lot of carbs from fruit and starchy veggies. The wheat just makes me want more and more and more. I also do really well with peanut butter as a snack and I crave it at night after hard runs or in the morning the day after a hard run if I haven't eaten enough calories. Chocolate milk is also a go to for me because I don't really like gatorade and other "sports drinks."

http://www.runnersworld.com/nutrition-for-runners/what-to-eat-the-week-of-a-marathon
http://www.runnersworld.com/nutrition-for-runners/whole-food-alternatives-to-gels
http://www.runnersworld.com/womens-running/not-created-equal?page=single
http://www.runnersworld.com/nutrition-runners/whole-grain-truth?page=2

 

[skiandrun]

Oh, and yes there is a formula!! In the article that talks about female vs male runners the formula is 18-20 calories per pound of body weight for women and 20-22 calories per pound for a male runner - for a 30 mile a week average. Obviously if you are running more or trying to loose weight it's a bit different.