Official Avengers Half Marathon Weekend 2015 Thread

[S'Mores]

I am happy to hear that it's easy to get ADRs for DL than WDW. I've been looking at where we should eat.
Is it 60 days like WDW does 180 from your hotel reservation or do will I have to call on consecutive days (each 60 days from date we will be eating)?
That's probably clear as mud lol.

 

[jayhawk4]

So in costume planning, has anyone else seen the crazy cheap Chinese Marvel knock off shirts on eBay? They seem to be marketed at "cycling jerseys" They look kind of like the Under Armour Alter Ego stuff. They are between $8 & $16 on eBay and ship from China. I'm sure they aren't licensed based on the price.

Will anyone frown on us wearing these during the Avengers Half Marathon Weekend? Seems easier/cheaper than making 6 costumes, but I don't want to get hit with the ban hammer.

 

[S'Mores]

So in costume planning, has anyone else seen the crazy cheap Chinese Marvel knock off shirts on eBay? They seem to be marketed at "cycling jerseys" They look kind of like the Under Armour Alter Ego stuff. They are between $8 & $16 on eBay and ship from China. I'm sure they aren't licensed based on the price.

Will anyone frown on us wearing these during the Avengers Half Marathon Weekend? Seems easier/cheaper than making 6 costumes, but I don't want to get hit with the ban hammer.

I bought a couple. I figured they weren't licensed based on price but I didn't think Disney would ban it. Hmmm might need to do more research. I bought 4, I'm doing the IGC and 5k, so got quicksilver and winter-soldier, didn't like Thor so didn't get it. I got my sister Deadpool and mom Hulk as they will be running the 5k with me. At the very least I can train in them

Edited to add: I wore a shirt from Teefury that obviously wasn't licensed into WDW last year and no one commented (except from the "Love your shirts!" but none of them came from a castmember).

 

[jayhawk4]

I bought a couple. I figured they weren't licensed based on price but I didn't think Disney would ban it. Hmmm might need to do more research. I bought 4, I'm doing the IGC and 5k, so got quicksilver and winter-soldier, didn't like Thor so didn't get it. I got my sister Deadpool and mom Hulk as they will be running the 5k with me. At the very least I can train in them

Edited to add: I wore a shirt from Teefury that obviously wasn't licensed into WDW last year and no one commented (except from the "Love your shirts!" but none of them came from a castmember).

Come to think of it, we saw quite a bit of unlicensed stuff at the DL Half and no one said anything. I figure it is probably ok. We have a few of them on order too. Hopefully they get here!

Edit to add: yeah the Thor one is kind of weird. Why is it just black & grey? Looks like it stealth mode or something.

 

[S'Mores]

Come to think of it, we saw quite a bit of unlicensed stuff at the DL Half and no one said anything. I figure it is probably ok. We have a few of them on order too. Hopefully they get here!

Yeah I was looking at the video on runDisney, and several were not licensed. Including the Loki shirt the girl is wearing in the second banner photo. I think we'll be okay. Also technically speaking the handmade ones aren't licensed either so probably half the race isn't licensed.
Hopefully they get here in time for a couple of practice runs before the races.

 

[jayhawk4]

Didn't even think about looking at pictures of last year's race. Wife wanted a Winter Soldier look for the 10K, and these knock offs were kind of the best we could find.

Are you carrying a shield? Can't decide it's worth the space in the luggage since we are trying to go carry-on only or if it would just get annoying for 6 miles anyway.

 

[S'Mores]

I liked the ebay ones because I could get the silver arm and star without compression sleeves which irritate me while I run. I think Winter Soldier will be for the 1/2, so no shield purely based on annoyance factor. I don't even think I could do the 5k with it honestly but I've seen several people run with items in their arms so it may not be annoying for you.

 

[tiffjoy]

I am happy to hear that it's easy to get ADRs for DL than WDW. I've been looking at where we should eat.
Is it 60 days like WDW does 180 from your hotel reservation or do will I have to call on consecutive days (each 60 days from date we will be eating)?
That's probably clear as mud lol.

You have to call each day. But it's not hard to get reservations. You can also book online, which is easier.

 

[S'Mores]

You have to call each day. But it's not hard to get reservations. You can also book online, which is easier.

Thanks! I forgot about online!

 

[RnbwSktles]

We are flying from Kansas City (MCI) to John Wayne/Orange County (SNA) for about $120 each way on Southwest. Our flight to SNA stops in Oakland, CA and our flight home stops in Phoenix. I've been on the SNA-PHX-KC plane many times. We booked about two weeks after we registered for the races during a Southwest sale.

Everyone seems to be getting good deals through the Southwest sales! There never seem to be a NY or Philly option though

 

[Castle2Castle]

Everyone seems to be getting good deals through the Southwest sales! There never seem to be a NY or Philly option though

Assuming Southwest is in those markets, keep checking. Think I mentioned in my post earlier that articles I've read the last couple years highlighted the 7-8 week period before departure as a sweet spot for deals, and we've scored some additional discounts in that window for past flights to Orlando anyway. I check the website every now and then still in case there's another sale, and I'll check probably each morning as we hit that window in mid-September. Maybe there's hope yet!

 

[EDS19]

I'm loving the medals. Captain America is exactly what I expected but I LOVE it. And I was excited to see Ant-Man on the kids medal. That seems to be more evidence that we might see a Ant-Man character on the course.

I am curious what some runners pre-race favorites are. Can anyone recommend a good pasta dinner place? I actually don't really carb up, but my kids have heard of the saying and I think it would be fun to do that Thursday night before we all do the 5k as a family. I am up for anything before the 10k and half. We are staying in a villa at VGC, so we'll have a kitchen, but I am planning on at least 3 dinners out, all breakfasts in the room (son is allergic to milk and eggs so breakfast out is often a hassle for him) and lunches in the parks. We are there Thursday afternoon through Sunday night.

For Pasta inside the Disneyland resort we love Plaza Inn. At the end of Main street it has excellent Penne Pasta with Chicken Pesto Alfredo Sauce or Marinara sauce.
(They also have their classic Fried Chicken and Pot Roast) Plus they have some great desserts there!


Over at California Adventure the Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta has Chicken Sun-dried Tomato Pesto, Spaghetti and Meatballs, and Five Cheese Raviolis.


There are some other options too but those would be my go to places for pasta in the parks.

 

[DVCFan1994]

How is everyone's training going? I am still ramping up from a down time after a surgery, starting to feel a little pressure of the race getting closer. I had a crazy buys schedule in August and missed some runs. Because I was sort of starting from scratch for this race due to the long period of no running, I don't have a time goal, just want to finish all three races without any major issues pain wise. I am still in PT, back up to 2-3 runs of about 3 miles a week, plus a long run on the weekend. I am up to 6 miles for the long run. I am not fast, about 10:30/mile but I am at least more comfortable running again. So far the IT band issues have not returned, but I am still very nervous...

 

[S'Mores]

How is everyone's training going? I am still ramping up from a down time after a surgery, starting to feel a little pressure of the race getting closer. I had a crazy buys schedule in August and missed some runs. Because I was sort of starting from scratch for this race due to the long period of no running, I don't have a time goal, just want to finish all three races without any major issues pain wise. I am still in PT, back up to 2-3 runs of about 3 miles a week, plus a long run on the weekend. I am up to 6 miles for the long run. I am not fast, about 10:30/mile but I am at least more comfortable running again. So far the IT band issues have not returned, but I am still very nervous...

You are doing better than I am! Lol I'm averaging a 13 min pace. I'm using Jeff Galloway's training and doing pretty well. No time goal for me either I just want to finish! I'll work on time for the GSC lol

 

[DVCFan1994]

You are doing better than I am! Lol I'm averaging a 13 min pace. I'm using Jeff Galloway's training and doing pretty well. No time goal for me either I just want to finish! I'll work on time for the GSC lol

That's my plan too! Finish IGC healthy, work on speed for GSC. I have finished the last two GSCs limping directly to the medical tent. My hope is to avoid that this year

 

[S'Mores]

That's my plan too! Finish IGC healthy, work on speed for GSC. I have finished the last two GSCs limping directly to the medical tent. My hope is to avoid that this year

We can do this

 

[Castle2Castle]

How is everyone's training going?

I'm in peak training for a mid-October marathon, so I think I should be fine for the Infinity Gauntlet Challenge a month later barring any bad injuries. I'm doing extra training with my wife to get her training going for the Challenge and she's about where you are mileage wise, doing speed and tempo training 2x during the week for 3-4 miles and a long run on the weekend. We just did 6 miles for her this past week and will bump it up to 7 this Sunday. Right now she's doing run/walk long runs of 1:45-1, but we're working on increasing both her pace and her intervals with the speed and tempo training during the week; thinking she can comfortably do 2-1 or possibly 3-1 depending on how things go these next couple months.

 

[DVCFan1994]

I'm in peak training for a mid-October marathon, so I think I should be fine for the Infinity Gauntlet Challenge a month later barring any bad injuries. I'm doing extra training with my wife to get her training going for the Challenge and she's about where you are mileage wise, doing speed and tempo training 2x during the week for 3-4 miles and a long run on the weekend. We just did 6 miles for her this past week and will bump it up to 7 this Sunday. Right now she's doing run/walk long runs of 1:45-1, but we're working on increasing both her pace and her intervals with the speed and tempo training during the week; thinking she can comfortably do 2-1 or possibly 3-1 depending on how things go these next couple months.

I'm jealous of your marathon training. I'd love to train for a full, but I have decided I am not registering for one until I get through a training cycle for a half without a major injury. Hasn't happened yet. If I can make it through this or the GSC cycle, my hope is a year from this October for a full. There is a beautiful fall foliage one in NH I would like to do. If I can get through a local full ok in 2016, I will sign up for my decades long dream of a WDW full.

I'm so worried about re-injuring my ITB I am not really working on speed at all right now, just endurance. I can do the 2-3 mid week runs 3 miles in about 30 minutes, no breaks. The long runs I have gotten up to 6 miles running with 2 1 minute walk breaks after some nasty hills. I also walk a quarter mile before and after every short run and a quarter mile before long runs and a half to a full mile after long runs to stay loose. I want to do a 10k in 3 weeks for POT for GSC, so that will be my first real test.

 

[Castle2Castle]

I'm so worried about re-injuring my ITB I am not really working on speed at all right now, just endurance.

Do you do any cross training? I don't know much in the way of swimming and other sports, but when I had what I self-diagnosed as ITB (Internet MD right here ) issues, I found I was able to do body weight squats even when jogging was painful. Gradually, the squats and lunges I did helped strengthen the muscles around my knee, as well as probably helping other stabilizer and core muscles, such that I could run pain free again.

I'm pretty good about sticking with a regular strength training routine now on Mon/Wed/Fri since I only run Tue/Thu/Sat (plus Sun for wife's training), but working on strength for your legs, stabilizer muscles and core can probably be done in some fairly simple 15 minute circuit routines if you aren't already doing something and wanted to give it a try.

Whatever you're currently doing and do going forward, I hope you can keep running forward injury free!

 

[DVCFan1994]

Do you do any cross training? I don't know much in the way of swimming and other sports, but when I had what I self-diagnosed as ITB (Internet MD right here ) issues, I found I was able to do body weight squats even when jogging was painful. Gradually, the squats and lunges I did helped strengthen the muscles around my knee, as well as probably helping other stabilizer and core muscles, such that I could run pain free again.

I'm pretty good about sticking with a regular strength training routine now on Mon/Wed/Fri since I only run Tue/Thu/Sat (plus Sun for wife's training), but working on strength for your legs, stabilizer muscles and core can probably be done in some fairly simple 15 minute circuit routines if you aren't already doing something and wanted to give it a try.

Whatever you're currently doing and do going forward, I hope you can keep running forward injury free!

Yes, I usually do a fair amount of cross training, I swim and do indoor spin classes, plus strength training. My IT band only bothers me running, but at its worst my ortho doc had said total rest for a few weeks. I think strength training is key for me, and mostly core. I've never focused on it before, so I'm hoping it will make a difference this time around. According to my PT I have some structural imbalances that a strong core can help compensate for, but as my core gets tired, and can't help out any more, I start to over compensate with the wrong leg muscles leading to injury. That why I've always made it to about the 10 mile mark in training before I have issues. That seems to be the endurance of my core. I need to really work on that to actually improve my running. I'm doing basic core work daily, which includes a few full body dynamic core moves, plus a full body strength training twice a week. Now that my schedule is clearing out with summer ending I will be running t-th-sun, plus every other sa.