The New *Official 2013 Disney Princess Half Marathon Thread*

[LuLuO]

Originally Posted by louloubelle84

Hi all! I haven't posted in about a week because I haven't been walking in that long. It is way too hot here in Florida for me to continue walking outside. There's a gym at my apartment complex, so I'm thinking of walking on the treadmill. How does training there compare to training outside?

I've been told to set your treadmill at an incline to mimic outdoors. 1-3%. It is still very different, but the woman who won our Go! St. Louis Marathon did the majority of her training on the treadmill. I've been using the treadmill a lot lately and when I went outside the other day I found that I shaved 30+ seconds off my time.

[Tinker Gal]

Originally Posted by longhorns2

Gotta ask- when you registered, was Merida a choice for your Princess? Did you notice?

Shoot, I don't recall...but I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

[Tinker Gal]

Had a rotten 10K yesterday...ran out of tees & poor signage led me to add a trail course in. After that fiasco, I decided to forego the timed finish as I was dead last. But the absolute worst part was that they ran out of water on the 4th of July in Georgia! Really? This was coordinated by a so-called 'professional' race group. Oh, they've heard from me...

I was so discouraged afterward, I told my running buddy I didn't want to do the PHM. She was very reassuring & after my sufficient time pouting, I'm refocused & ready to keep training.

It's great to come to this community & learn from your experiences, good & bad. Thanks, Princesses!!

[DeerIsleDisney]

Originally Posted by happybaker

Awesome time!

I did my first 10K Tuesday night down at Gillette Staduim and I didn't do as well as I hoped. Finished in 1:27:26. I walked almost all of mile 3, but I keep telling myself I finished In the end, it came out to almost an even 14 minute mile, so at least I'm above the Disney requirement.

Not much going on today at work, so I'm looking for a fall 10K because I know I can do better than Tuesday. I've done better on my training runs, so I'm determined now....or at least until I have to go outside in the heat and train LOL

Holly

Way to go on your first 10K! I think it is difficult to get a great time on your first race at a new distance... the confidence to push through early on isn't there. Now you know you can do this distance... and are well under 16 minutes/mile.

I noticed your signature says southern Maine...I'm up the coast in Deer Isle. I'm thinking of trying the Maine Half Marathon in Portland in late September. Do they have a 10K as well? Temps should be nice then and I've heard the course is flat.

Originally Posted by tinkeramy

I don't know anything about this book, but just noticed it was free on Amazon for Kindle, so might be worth a glance!
"Running for Beginners" by Simon Adams

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008B9G7WM/?tag=pwr1-20

Thanks for the tip! Just downloaded it.

Originally Posted by Tinker Gal

Had a rotten 10K yesterday...ran out of tees & poor signage led me to add a trail course in. After that fiasco, I decided to forego the timed finish as I was dead last. But the absolute worst part was that they ran out of water on the 4th of July in Georgia! Really? This was coordinated by a so-called 'professional' race group. Oh, they've heard from me...

I was so discouraged afterward, I told my running buddy I didn't want to do the PHM. She was very reassuring & after my sufficient time pouting, I'm refocused & ready to keep training.

It's great to come to this community & learn from your experiences, good & bad. Thanks, Princesses!!

What a huge bummer! I'm sorry your race was so poorly organized. I think a big part of why I want to do the Princess Half is that I know Disney will do it well. I would be so frustrated to train for that distance and then have a bad race experience. Glad you are refocused and ready to keep training... I bet you will be glad you stuck with it.

[Christie Lee]

2 Things:

1. Please add me to this list! I am looking forward to the 2013 Princess Half and I have really enjoyed reading all of your posts. You are all truly helpful and inspiring!

2. I am usually a lurker on these boards, but I am a Sports Business Management grad student and I have been given a HUGE research assignment on Women Focused Running Events, similar to the Princess Half. I created a quick, 10 question survey. If any of you ladies have a few minutes and would be willing to take the survey, I would really appreciate your help!! Here is the link:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FZLF36C

If you are able to help, thanks in advance!! If not, no worries!!

[ColleenG]

Tinker Gal- the Princess Half Marathon is so organized! There is no way they run out of water. And the course is very clearly marked. Sorry your 10K was so stinky. But don't let that get you down for the Princess.

LuLu- I am going without my kids or DH this year. It's girls weekend. On the other hand my kids have been to WDW every year they have been alive, just about. Definately get in the parks after the race. You really don't want to sit and stiffen up. What I did this year when I did have the whole family was DH tried running between MK and Epcot to see me and I didn't see him at all. So he was up early. My mom came up to stay with us, she took the bus over to Epcot around 8:30 with the kids, so they weren't up too early and I saw them just as I was going into Epcot. DH had the ChEAR Squad package and said it wasn't really worth it. My mom and the kids didn't have it at all and they were the ones to see me. Maybe doing something like that will help so your kiddos and DH get to see you but don't have to be up too early and be cranky. After this year DH was a total grump all day. I know he was up early, but I was up at 3 am AND ran 13.1 miles, so I really had no sympathy for him.

[tinkeramy]

Originally Posted by Tinker Gal

Had a rotten 10K yesterday...ran out of tees & poor signage led me to add a trail course in. After that fiasco, I decided to forego the timed finish as I was dead last. But the absolute worst part was that they ran out of water on the 4th of July in Georgia! Really? This was coordinated by a so-called 'professional' race group. Oh, they've heard from me...

I was so discouraged afterward, I told my running buddy I didn't want to do the PHM. She was very reassuring & after my sufficient time pouting, I'm refocused & ready to keep training.

It's great to come to this community & learn from your experiences, good & bad. Thanks, Princesses!!

What race did you do? That's horrible! But it does happen. I had a friend do her first IronMan triathlon in a summer month and they ran out of water - seriously?! Glad you refocused and I can assure you that the Dis will not disappoint!

[happybaker]

[QUOTE=DeerIsleDisney;45387712]Way to go on your first 10K! I think it is difficult to get a great time on your first race at a new distance... the confidence to push through early on isn't there. Now you know you can do this distance... and are well under 16 minutes/mile.

I noticed your signature says southern Maine...I'm up the coast in Deer Isle. I'm thinking of trying the Maine Half Marathon in Portland in late September. Do they have a 10K as well? Temps should be nice then and I've heard the course is flat.
QUOTE]

Thanks! I'm in the Kennebunk area. I looked quickly at the Maine Marathon in Portland and no 10K. It looks like a nice race, though. I've wanted to keep the Princess for my first half, but maybe it would be a good idea to get a practice one in. I'll have to think about the Portland one.

I did see a race in Salem, MA in late October....it's 6.66 miles. I think it was called the Devil's Run or something and that looked like fun.

Holly

[happybaker]

Originally Posted by Tinker Gal

Had a rotten 10K yesterday...ran out of tees & poor signage led me to add a trail course in. After that fiasco, I decided to forego the timed finish as I was dead last. But the absolute worst part was that they ran out of water on the 4th of July in Georgia! Really? This was coordinated by a so-called 'professional' race group. Oh, they've heard from me...

I was so discouraged afterward, I told my running buddy I didn't want to do the PHM. She was very reassuring & after my sufficient time pouting, I'm refocused & ready to keep training.

It's great to come to this community & learn from your experiences, good & bad. Thanks, Princesses!!

I'm sorry your race experience was so awful. I can't believe they ran out of water; that's unacceptable. I'm glad you gave them a piece of your mind, though....good for you!

I'm glad you rebounded and decided to keep training for the Princess.

Holly

[TinyDancer]

Originally Posted by Tinker Gal

Had a rotten 10K yesterday...ran out of tees & poor signage led me to add a trail course in. After that fiasco, I decided to forego the timed finish as I was dead last. But the absolute worst part was that they ran out of water on the 4th of July in Georgia! Really? This was coordinated by a so-called 'professional' race group. Oh, they've heard from me...

I was so discouraged afterward, I told my running buddy I didn't want to do the PHM. She was very reassuring & after my sufficient time pouting, I'm refocused & ready to keep training.

It's great to come to this community & learn from your experiences, good & bad. Thanks, Princesses!!

Oh that stinks about your 10k!! I'm doing a trail run this month and I hope the course is marked correctly!!
and no water?

Originally Posted by Christie Lee

2 Things:

1. Please add me to this list! I am looking forward to the 2013 Princess Half and I have really enjoyed reading all of your posts. You are all truly helpful and inspiring!

2. I am usually a lurker on these boards, but I am a Sports Business Management grad student and I have been given a HUGE research assignment on Women Focused Running Events, similar to the Princess Half. I created a quick, 10 question survey. If any of you ladies have a few minutes and would be willing to take the survey, I would really appreciate your help!! Here is the link:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FZLF36C

If you are able to help, thanks in advance!! If not, no worries!!

Welcome, Christie! I'll add you

[saysay]

Originally Posted by Tinker Gal

Had a rotten 10K yesterday...ran out of tees & poor signage led me to add a trail course in. After that fiasco, I decided to forego the timed finish as I was dead last. But the absolute worst part was that they ran out of water on the 4th of July in Georgia! Really? This was coordinated by a so-called 'professional' race group. Oh, they've heard from me...

I was so discouraged afterward, I told my running buddy I didn't want to do the PHM. She was very reassuring & after my sufficient time pouting, I'm refocused & ready to keep training.

It's great to come to this community & learn from your experiences, good & bad. Thanks, Princesses!!

Oh that is horrible, it was SO humid too. Way to regroup! The princess is a huge race, they have tons of water and you won't get lost! Its fun too. Good thing you let the race organizers know....that is just sad.

The good thing about the princess, its not going to be so hot as GA in July!

[Mamasmurf227]

Originally Posted by happybaker

Thanks! I'm in the Kennebunk area. I looked quickly at the Maine Marathon in Portland and no 10K. It looks like a nice race, though. I've wanted to keep the Princess for my first half, but maybe it would be a good idea to get a practice one in. I'll have to think about the Portland one.

I did see a race in Salem, MA in late October....it's 6.66 miles. I think it was called the Devil's Run or something and that looked like fun.

Holly

There's the Smuttynose Hampton Rockfest Half at the end of Sept. I'm doing that as my "am I sure I can do this?" half before the Princess. It is supposed to be a fairly flat, scenic course. I figure that if I can't run the whole thing, I'll at least have a nice walk along the ocean those last few miles.

[happybaker]

Originally Posted by Mamasmurf227

There's the Smuttynose Hampton Rockfest Half at the end of Sept. I'm doing that as my "am I sure I can do this?" half before the Princess. It is supposed to be a fairly flat, scenic course. I figure that if I can't run the whole thing, I'll at least have a nice walk along the ocean those last few miles.

That one sounds like fun too. Now I have too many choices Does it have a time limit for the half or just for the full? I know I can finish the half before the full finishes.

For those that have run the Princess before (or any half), how important was it for you to run the distance prior? I know a lot of training plans don't go as high as 13 miles, but even if I don't run a practice half race I still intend to at least run the distance in training. I figure since my long runs are already up to 6 - 7 miles, I'll have time to run the 13 miles a couple of times prior to the Princess and I may have a little more endurance/speed near the end of the race.

Holly

[saysay]

Originally Posted by MaMa3Princess

Tinker Amy!! You were real close!!! I Know a fall race will get you a sub 1 hr time!!!
It wasn't my best day and I suspect it was heat but as Amy stated it was one big street party plus the after race goodies hit the spot!! 1:19 will probably put me back in D, so I think I will do the gobble jog in November as my official 10k for time! Happy 4th ladies. Registration should be opening soon!!!

OY the humidity! I was 10 minutes slower this year...BUT I also had um very little no training. I finished strong......but 15 minutes later a sudden bout of nausea and dizzyness hit. I didn't get sick and went to medical when I was feeling it....oh how wonderful ice filled towels felt. I am kind of clautraphoibic and thinking maybe the crowds in the park afterwards didn't help and I was standing in the sun when it hit. Perhaps OVER hydrated and electrolytes were off...I know it was NOT the taste of Sweetwater Beer I had at mile 3.4 - sad to take a sip and dump! Adding my race report below.

Since I knew it would be a "just get to the finish race and take it slow" I took some photos and had a blast - similar to princess.

The good news is my shins are fine.....maybe it was all the walking before and after the race. I know the rest must have helped.

I will be running the Thanksgiving 10k again this year for a time to submit.

I cannot WAIT to sign up! I didn't go to the Peachtree Expo, I might have made the trek had I known.

[Mamasmurf227]

Originally Posted by happybaker

That one sounds like fun too. Now I have too many choices Does it have a time limit for the half or just for the full? I know I can finish the half before the full finishes.


Holly

The website says they welcome walkers and the full marathon course has the same finish. So, I don't believe there is a cut-off for the half.