The New *Official 2013 Disney Princess Half Marathon Thread*

[DisneyParrothead]

Originally Posted by sau418

I just picked up my race packet for my first 10K on Sunday, the Pittsburgh Great Race. I am excited and terrified at the same time. This is my longest race so far. I did the marathon relay in May and ran 5.7, so I know I can do this (ran 8 last weekend) but is still nerve racking.

While at the expo I also signed up for my second half marathon the Pittsburgh Half Marathon, on May 5, 2013. I will be running it with my dad who will be 74, and just qualified to run the Boston Marathon.

Two questions, do you change up your playlist for race day and if so what kind of changes do you make?

For the longer races (half and up) do you use nutritional supplements, gels, jelly beans, etc? If so how did you go about deciding what to use and when? I have seen alot of these in stores and am just curious, I would hate to try something on a race and not have a good experience with it.

Thanks!!

I have quite a few staples that I love working out to, and then I build around those for my long run list, which then turns into my race list. My next race list will be quite different from my last one.

[christinascreative]

For those looking at outfits for race day.. have you seen this shop on Etsy? I just found her yesterday and love these shirt designs!http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChicByAmber

[KristinU]

Originally Posted by sau418

For the longer races (half and up) do you use nutritional supplements, gels, jelly beans, etc? If so how did you go about deciding what to use and when? I have seen alot of these in stores and am just curious, I would hate to try something on a race and not have a good experience with it.

Thanks!!

Originally Posted by sherekhan

Never mess around with a new food on race day. That's even more important than clothing.Try it out on a training run and see how it goes. Some people's stomachs just don't agree with them, or with certain brands, so don't mess around with ruining your special race day!

Here's a little link about it that I think sums up the pros & cons decently.
http://www.allaboutrunning.net/sri-c...og/energy-gels

Personally, I drink at every water stop, but never take any food/gel of any kind in before 7 miles, but I've also heard that you should take them earlier because your digestion process slows or stops later in the race if you're really under duress. I would imagine everyone is different and there's probably lot of different theories out there.

Always, always, always take them with water...and not with sports drinks or just alone.

I never figured out the thing with jelly beans. Wouldn't candy set you up for that energy loss feeling? They're not made of the carbs that easily break down. Maybe people use them more for a psychological treat to say "good job, Me!" ??

Does anyone know what brand of power gel is offered on the Princess course? Usually I tried to match my training with what was offered in a marathon in case I needed something and ran out.

Pretty much ditto Sherekhan. Though the beans I think most people talk about are the Jelly Belly sports beans, made with the more easily digested sugars and electrolytes. I tried them for a while, and the nice benefit is that you can pour them into a pocket or something and not have to have the big wrapper, but they proved too acidic for my tummy. I'm pretty sensitive in the tummy department, so I'll even take a couple of whatever supplement du jour before my daily 4-5 milers just to know my body is used to them. My current favorites are Sharkies (that I find at BJ's in small packs for kids) and Honey Stingers - they're both organic. I used to like hammer gel, but I found I prefer a chew a little better since I don't love that sweetness feel all over in my throat. Plus with chews you can choose how many you eat at a time. For instance, last weekend I ran a half in Montreal and it was really chilly waiting in the corrals before the race. As my corral approached the start I realized how much energy I had probably already expended jumping around and doing some static yoga moves in an effort to keep warm, so I ate a couple of my Honey Stingers to make sure I didn't bonk before my normal 5-6 mile downing of them. As for when during a race you'll want them - you kind of just have to get that dialed in for yourself over time. I used to think I didn't need anything but water, but once I tried it I realized why people do it....it helps a lot! at least for me it does!

I carry my water so I can take small sips whenever I wan and bypass the aid stations. If I grab water during a race I feel like I always take too big a gulp and feel all nasty.

And definitely don't try anything new on race day!

[ColleenG]

At this year's Princess they were giving out Clif Shot gels around mile 8. Definitely don't try something new on race day. The jelly beans are Jell Belly's sports beans that have electrolytes and that kind of stuff. I've still been playing around with what to use. Brands and flavors can make a difference. If I'm going on a run over 10 miles I will usually do a gel or beans around mile 5 or 5.5. and then again in another 4 or 5 miles depending how I feel.

[ColleenG]

Originally Posted by christinascreative

For those looking at outfits for race day.. have you seen this shop on Etsy? I just found her yesterday and love these shirt designs!http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChicByAmber

Love her stuff! The Rapunzel shirt is really cute and better than I could make myself. Thanks for sharing. I just found the solution to my costume! Do you know if the shirts are cotton or are they moisture wicking? I wonder if I sent her a moisture wicking shirt if she could use that. Then I would know for sure the the shirt fits right.

[christinascreative]

Originally Posted by ColleenG

Love her stuff! The Rapunzel shirt is really cute and better than I could make myself. Thanks for sharing. I just found the solution to my costume! Do you know if the shirts are cotton or are they moisture wicking? I wonder if I sent her a moisture wicking shirt if she could use that. Then I would know for sure the the shirt fits right.

The ones she has up now are cotton I believe. I contacted her regarding switching up something for my Ariel tank-- she said she's actually waiting on moisture wicking material to come in- she's going to try making some running specific ones soon. If you want a custom-- she'll most likely do it- she said she could piece a sports bra together with a middle panel for me.

[DeerIsleDisney]

Good luck to New England Princesses running the Maine 1/2 Marathon or the Smuttynose 1/2 this weekend! (and everyone else racing this weekend, of course).

[Maddies Mama]

I have found a 10k race I can run prior to Dec 1. How do I find out if it meets the criteria of being officially timed or whatever it's called that would allow me to qualify for a higher corral placement?

[ColleenG]

Originally Posted by christinascreative

The ones she has up now are cotton I believe. I contacted her regarding switching up something for my Ariel tank-- she said she's actually waiting on moisture wicking material to come in- she's going to try making some running specific ones soon. If you want a custom-- she'll most likely do it- she said she could piece a sports bra together with a middle panel for me.

I emailed her asking if I could send her a shirt and she said that would work. I have a purple shirt I really like. I'll swing by sports authority this weekend and see if I can get another one to send her.

[longhorns2]

Originally Posted by Maddies Mama

I have found a 10k race I can run prior to Dec 1. How do I find out if it meets the criteria of being officially timed or whatever it's called that would allow me to qualify for a higher corral placement?

Ask the race if its a chip timed event.

[Maddies Mama]

Originally Posted by longhorns2

Ask the race if its a chip timed event.

Thanks. So if it's not, it's not certified? There was a 10k I was going to run after Dec 1 with our local running club, but they don't use chip timing, so I guess that wouldn't have counted anyway?

[happybaker]

Originally Posted by DeerIsleDisney

Good luck to New England Princesses running the Maine 1/2 Marathon or the Smuttynose 1/2 this weekend! (and everyone else racing this weekend, of course).

I'm running the Smuttynose tomorrow, so thanks! I need the luck because I haven't done any type of exercise the last couple of weeks, so I'll probably be walking most of the time. I don't want to push myself to the point of injury, since the official Princess training starting next week, so I don't mind walking more if need be.

It's my first half, but I'm excited to see how long it'll take me so I can work off of that while training for the Princess. I'm meeting a friend tonight down in Hampton Beach. We decided to stay over and so we didn't have to worry about traffic and parking tomorrow.

Good luck to everyone else running a race this weekend! Kim and Laurie - maybe I'll see you tomorrow. I'll be in a light blue sparkle skirt and a bright yellowish visor, so if you see someone dressed like that, say hi!

Holly

[sherekhan]

Originally Posted by KristinU

Pretty much ditto Sherekhan. Though the beans I think most people talk about are the Jelly Belly sports beans, made with the more easily digested sugars and electrolytes.

This makes so much more sense.

[longhorns2]

Originally Posted by Maddies Mama

Thanks. So if it's not, it's not certified? There was a 10k I was going to run after Dec 1 with our local running club, but they don't use chip timing, so I guess that wouldn't have counted anyway?

I'm not sure that the issue is certification, but "proof" somewhere about the time. So if your club is doing a run but they don't have timing- I'm not sure it would be accepted. I have heard stories of runs where you hear your time called out as you cross the finish, then go over to a table and have someone record it. Would this work? I dunno. It might be perfectly acceptable.

I really have NO idea how much checking rundisney does with corral times. I assume not too much to be honest based on some past experiences--- when my friend had to change her time for her corral at the expo, they just looked at the printout she brought. They didn't pull it up online to cross check or anything else. In fact, in her case, she was showing them a half marathon team race she did. She showed her split time and distance (just over 10K) and her age. Her NAME wasn't even on the print out- since it was just the team name with ages of the participants next to it.

The person at the expo kinda looked at it funny, but went ahead and moved her up to corral B based on this information. We laughed later that if we had thought about it, there was a team who had someone the same age as her- but they ran it much faster! We could have claimed that team and gotten her into A corral.

[christinascreative]

Originally Posted by ColleenG

I emailed her asking if I could send her a shirt and she said that would work. I have a purple shirt I really like. I'll swing by sports authority this weekend and see if I can get another one to send her.

That's awesome- Post a pic here when you get it back from her- would love to see it!