2012 Marathon/2011 Princess Half Marathon Weekend Trip Report! 8/21 - 2013 TRAINING!

[Ariel484]

I'm kind of bummed that they probably won't still have the Christmas stuff up for next year's marathon since it is later.
I've enjoyed your TR! Thanks for sharing it. Reading it has helped give me the confidence to sign up for the WDW marathon - my first!

Ugh, I know! I thought about the Christmas decorations too. On the one hand, the parks may not be as crowded - yay for that - but I really loved seeing the Christmas decorations this year.

Glad you've enjoyed the report, and that you have signed up for the full!! You will love it! Happy running!

 

[Ariel484]

Day 4: Monday, January 9 - Now It's Time To Say Goodbye...

When I got back to the Beach Club I still had about 30 minutes before I was due to board the Magical Express, so I wandered around to get more pictures of the resort.

The Villas:

The Resort:

Back to the Villas again:

I headed back into the lobby and walked around Cape May Café on my way back out to the pool area. I was surprised – and slightly horrified – to hear Ke$ha playing (fun fact – before I knew how her name was actually pronounced I referred to her as “Key-money-ha.” Close enough). Apparently there was a wedding reception going on in Ariel’s that afternoon and that place about to blooooow-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!

And back out to Stormalong Bay:

I really regret that I didn’t use the pool at all during our stay. Maybe someday. I brought my swimsuit specifically for the hot tub, but it was closed all weekend. That would have been heavenly for my sore legs.

Still some work going on:

Where is everyone?

Crooked!

The crane again:

By now it was time to grab a snack and hop on the Magical Express. Marathon Weekend 2012 was officially over.

Continued in Next Post

 

[Ariel484]

Final Thoughts (non-race)

Beach Club Villas: I’d like to give this place another shot someday. As I said before, I didn’t like the room I was given, but would have felt funny asking to be moved for a short weekend trip. Other than that, it was great. The location cannot be beat, my room was in a quiet area of the resort (though there was some noise being by the elevators), and I liked having a counter service place right inside the hotel. We’ll be back someday (either Beach or Yacht), preferably for a longer trip during warmer weather, as I didn’t get to use the pool at all.

Food: Beach Club Marketplace and Beaches and Cream were new to me on this trip. The Marketplace was good for a counter service place…more breakfast options would have been nice. Beaches and Cream was okay. Flame me all you want, but I found that (shockingly) I didn’t like eating at a table service where I hadn’t made an ADR. We had to wait 30-45 minutes for our table, where we waited less than 5 minutes to get seated at Via Napoli and ‘Ohana, thanks to our ADRs. I’m one of those crazies that doesn’t mind making ADRs, I think because I’m such an insane planner anyway. The rest of the places we ate at were old favorites of mine: Via Napoli, ‘Ohana and Kringla were all still great.

Merchandise: I had a couple of successes (love the new Boardwalk shirts) and a couple of misses (no Boardwalk or Beach Club coffee mugs…or any Beach Club merchandise really ) on this trip. There was plenty of generic DVC merchandise, which I wasn’t interested in since I’m not a member. Hopefully the trend of resort-specific merchandise coming back will continue.

The Parks: Loved seeing the Christmas decorations. I thought Hollywood Studios and Epcot looked great, but boy, were there a lot of walls up in the Magic Kingdom. I’m not complaining – I know it just means the park is getting some love – but it was jarring. No Animal Kingdom on this trip for me, except for during the race. At the time I didn’t miss it, but now that I’ve been home for a few weeks I regret not visiting that park. There’s always next time!

Disney in January: Beautiful weather, but more crowded than I expected…maybe because we weren’t far enough removed from New Year’s. What can ya do?

Disney somewhat solo: Not for me. In case you haven’t picked it up, I really, really missed my husband that weekend. It just didn’t feel like Disney to me without him there.

Continued In Next Post

 

[Ariel484]

Final Thoughts (race)

This was my second (and certainly not last!) race at Disney. It was my 11th race overall, and first ever marathon. I am so addicted to doing these races at Disney it’s not even funny. If I had unlimited funds I would do them all.

Training: It was difficult at times, mostly due to other stuff going on. I didn’t follow the schedule perfectly but I did the best I could. I used the Hal Higdon Novice Supreme program, which I thought was great. Overall I felt good during the race, I recovered quickly (my legs felt completely normal by January 12), and I didn't feel like training took over my life.

Expo: SO much better than the Princess Expo. I think there are a few reasons for this: I got there right when it opened, everything was spread out between 2 buildings (I think I've heard they do this for the Princess Expo now), and by Saturday only non-Goofy marathoners and relay runners were attending, so the crowds were bound to be smaller. There was tons of runDisney merchandise, and I even got an annual pass discount on the runDisney stuff I bought and was able to use Disney giftcards to pay for it, which was a nice surprise. Best purchase of the expo was The Stick , which I know really helped my recovery a lot.

The race: It was SO fun…the last mile was slightly miserable, but other than that, I had a blast. I will say that I was slightly disappointed in the character turnout. There were a lot of them on the course, but I’d already met most during the Princess Half or in the parks. If I hadn’t run the Princess Half in 2011, I know I would have been much more pleased with the characters on the marathon course. Having said that, I did get some pictures that I'm really happy with (prime example being the villains photo-op ). The on-course entertainment (characters, marching bands, etc.) was great, as were the spectators. The volunteers were amazing. The weather was perfect (just a little warm in the sun)…we really couldn’t have asked for a better day. Having said that…next time, I WILL bring throwaway clothes!

Post-race: Lots of food and water at the end, the finisher picture/medal distribution area was well-organized, and I found ice easily. I wish there had been more characters to meet.

Transportation: Excellent. No complaints from me. I have to say, I don't understand the urgency people feel to try to walk to the starting line in the morning. In both of the races I've run at Disney transportation really has been great. Maybe I'll be eating my words come January 12, 2013 (the day of the WDW Half Marathon)...but yeah, overall, I think Disney does a pretty good job shuttling people around on race weekend.

Photos/Videos: The photo package I bought was ridiculously expensive, but I’m glad I got it. The videos were a nice surprise…I’m glad Will got to "see" a portion of the race this way (including me crossing the finish line!), even though he wasn’t actually there.


So I think that's about it. I really appreciate those of you that have been reading and commenting! Thanks so much for following along. Maybe I'll see you during Marathon Weekend 2013 (as my ticker suggests, I'm going Goofy )...if not, I'll certainly see you around the boards. Happy Running!!

 

[CAStevens218]

I'm sad that your report is over, I really enjoyed reading!

I love your pictures from around the beach club...I will be there in less than a month!!!

Good luck with your training for the Goofy Challenge in January!!!

 

[kmg148]

Thanks! If you were able to complete the half I am sure you can do the full. My advice would be to pick a good training plan and STICK TO IT. You should be good to go!

Glad I'm not the only one that poses awkwardly on the race course. LOL!

Thanks! I noticed the Galloway plan starts next week so I'm ready!

You are definitely not the only one! After mile 7 when I would hand the camera to the CMs I had almost no dexterity to turn the camera on. When I went to send a text to see where my friends were at post-race, I literally could not send a text! My hands were so swollen! I think the fact that everyone might look a little silly is the best part.

 

[Ariel484]

I'm sad that your report is over, I really enjoyed reading!

I love your pictures from around the beach club...I will be there in less than a month!!!

Good luck with your training for the Goofy Challenge in January!!!

Ooh, luck you! I think you'll really like the Beach Club...it's super nice and you really can't beat the location. Have a great trip!

Thanks for reading, and for the well wishes on the Goofy Training...I'm sure I'll need it!

Thanks! I noticed the Galloway plan starts next week so I'm ready!

You are definitely not the only one! After mile 7 when I would hand the camera to the CMs I had almost no dexterity to turn the camera on. When I went to send a text to see where my friends were at post-race, I literally could not send a text! My hands were so swollen! I think the fact that everyone might look a little silly is the best part.

Ooh, that's exciting! The marathon is that much closer then! I used a Galloway plan for the Princess Half and made it across the finish line in one piece...I hope it works for you.

You know, I've heard of other people's hands swelling too...I wonder why that happens?! Maybe something to do with heating up from running and blood rushing to your hands?...hmm...

 

[MightyDuck001]

This will sound strange, but I'm kinda sad the trip report is over! I enjoyed reading it so much, and hearing all about the marathon and the Princess half marathon. I've got my first Disney race labor day weekend and I can't wait!

 

[ellajeansmom]

Congratulations on completing the marathon, your report was great... Felt like I was right there with you, minus the sweat of course! Best of luck on training for and completing the Goofy!

 

[Belle83]

I've really enjoyed your TR! Has inspired me to re-start Couch to 5K...

 

[Ariel484]

This will sound strange, but I'm kinda sad the trip report is over! I enjoyed reading it so much, and hearing all about the marathon and the Princess half marathon. I've got my first Disney race labor day weekend and I can't wait!

Thanks, glad you enjoyed the report! So I take it you are doing the DL Half (you may have mentioned it earlier and I forgot)? Lucky you! I hope to do that race some day.

Congratulations on completing the marathon, your report was great... Felt like I was right there with you, minus the sweat of course! Best of luck on training for and completing the Goofy!

Thank you for the congrats and the luck! I can't wait to officially start training!

I've really enjoyed your TR! Has inspired me to re-start Couch to 5K...

Thank you! Good luck with Couch-to-5k...it certainly worked for me. I hope it works for you too!

 

[dburg30]

Final Thoughts (race)


So I think that's about it. I really appreciate those of you that have been reading and commenting! Thanks so much for following along. Maybe I'll see you during Marathon Weekend 2013 (as my ticker suggests, I'm going Goofy )...if not, I'll certainly see you around the boards. Happy Running!!

Thank you for the report.. I've been kicking around the idea of a 1/2 and or full marathon for a while now.. Reading these reports makes me REALLY want to start training to do it.. My thing, I just know how I am.. I want the goofy... I've never ran more then 6 miles.. I have briskly walked pretty close to a marathon at a relay for life event, but seeing as that's spread over 18 hours (well closer actual walking time probably 14 hours) think I need to speed it up some lol.. I just need to start training (already have looked at jeff galloway method, and am going to look at the other one you linked) and have set the 2014 for my date!!!

Thanks for the excitement to get me started!! (hopefully )

 

[dburg30]

how obscene was the price on the photo / video package???

and the character pictures and stuff, were those taken with your camera by someone? Do they have photopass photographers out for those? What's included in the package you were talking about

 

[pxefig]

I'm sad your trip report is done, too! It was so much fun to read it! I'll be doing the half marathon in January. I had been kicking around the idea of doing the full since it has all the special 20th anniversary stuff, but I ran 13.1 milesd last week and can't imagine having that be only halfway! I figure by chhosing the half I will be able to work on speed so I can run fast enough to have time to stop for all those awesome photos!
I hope to hear how the Goofy training is going. You are an inspiration!

 

[Ariel484]

Thank you for the report.. I've been kicking around the idea of a 1/2 and or full marathon for a while now.. Reading these reports makes me REALLY want to start training to do it.. My thing, I just know how I am.. I want the goofy... I've never ran more then 6 miles.. I have briskly walked pretty close to a marathon at a relay for life event, but seeing as that's spread over 18 hours (well closer actual walking time probably 14 hours) think I need to speed it up some lol.. I just need to start training (already have looked at jeff galloway method, and am going to look at the other one you linked) and have set the 2014 for my date!!!

Thanks for the excitement to get me started!! (hopefully )

That is awesome! You can totally do it...just make sure you stick to your training plan, whichever one that may be.

how obscene was the price on the photo / video package???

and the character pictures and stuff, were those taken with your camera by someone? Do they have photopass photographers out for those? What's included in the package you were talking about

I think the photo/video thing was $99...$149 for Goofy or something. The individual pictures themselves were like $30 apiece, and there were 2 that I wanted, so I figured I would splurge and get the whole package. I will probably do the same for Goofy. It's definitely not a super great deal!

The character pictures were take with my little point-and-shoot camera. Each character had 2 Character Attendants, and while one was taking a picture the other was getting the next camera ready, so the lines moved quickly. There were no Photopass photographers though, just Character Attendants and the official race photographers - photos taken by these guys were included in the package I bought, along with random photos from the course (at the start/finish, the photo with my medal, etc.) and the 3 videos I linked to in the report. I think I ended up with about 35 pictures from the race, the 3 videos and some random promotional photos from around WDW property.

I'm sad your trip report is done, too! It was so much fun to read it! I'll be doing the half marathon in January. I had been kicking around the idea of doing the full since it has all the special 20th anniversary stuff, but I ran 13.1 milesd last week and can't imagine having that be only halfway! I figure by chhosing the half I will be able to work on speed so I can run fast enough to have time to stop for all those awesome photos!
I hope to hear how the Goofy training is going. You are an inspiration!

Thanks for reading! That is great that you are doing he half, and congrats on completing your race last weekend.

I am not training for Goofy quite yet...since the marathon I have done lots of shorter races and am working on consistently adding strength training and yoga the my weekly routine. Goofy training starts in September! I am kicking around the idea of keeping a little training journal in the Pre-Trip Report section to sort of document things...I have found that I really love to blab on about running!

Thanks again for reading the report! Maybe I will see you in January.

 

[christinascreative]

Thank you so much for posting this whole play by play of the Princess 1/2. I had a bad first training day yesterday and all these fun pics are pushing me through to TRY again. I'm SO doing this!

 

[pxefig]

I am not training for Goofy quite yet...since the marathon I have done lots of shorter races and am working on consistently adding strength training and yoga the my weekly routine. Goofy training starts in September! I am kicking around the idea of keeping a little training journal in the Pre-Trip Report section to sort of document things...I have found that I really love to blab on about running!

If you end up doing a training pre-trip report, please post the link to it in this thread so we can all follow you over to your PTR!

 

[Ariel484]

Thank you so much for posting this whole play by play of the Princess 1/2. I had a bad first training day yesterday and all these fun pics are pushing me through to TRY again. I'm SO doing this!

You're welcome! What are you training for? Bad training days are the pits, but don't give up! We all have not-so-great runs from time to time...it'll make you appreciate the great ones that much more.

If you end up doing a training pre-trip report, please post the link to it in this thread so we can all follow you over to your PTR!

Yes I will! I am pretty sure I do want to do one, so I'll be sure to post the link. Thanks!!

 

[shellbelle76]

Yes I will! I am pretty sure I do want to do one, so I'll be sure to post the link. Thanks!!

YAY! Loved your TR, and can hardly wait to follow your planning for 2013 events! Thank you for sharing your experience and your love of Disney. So inspiring and encouraging and happy!

 

[Ariel484]

YAY! Loved your TR, and can hardly wait to follow your planning for 2013 events! Thank you for sharing your experience and your love of Disney. So inspiring and encouraging and happy!

Thank you! Glad you liked the TR. : Training begins in 2 weeks!!