Official 2013 Disney Princess Half Marathon Thread - Take 2

[princessallegra]

I'd guess it's yurbuds. This is from the sizing FAQ on their site:

"As a bit of background, from the beginning, we have offered various sizes, described as sizes 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. Our most popular size is 5, which we also refer to as our standard size. Our next most popular size is 7, which is the alternative size in several of our models.

Here are your options:
Our standard size, 5, can be found in every product we sell. Several of our products also include an alternative size (7). We are confident that our customers buying any of our products will immediately appreciate the fit and comfort of the sizes offered in all of our models. Our customer service team will, however, send an additional size enhancer pair to a customer who would prefer a more snug fit."

Thank YOU!!! You rock. And i'm (and dh lol) obviously a tool for not reading their sizing faq.

 

[cantwaitvaca09]

Thank you so, so much! This has been a lifelong battle for me, and being able to call myself a "real runner" now means so much to me. Running really has changed my life!

I know you're right -- I cannot WAIT to cross that finish line next month. Needless to say, it's so much more than a race to me, and I can't wait to prove to myself that I can do this...and that the "old me" might just be gone forever!

Thank you again for your support!

It's not really a "race" at all. Its a personal milestone. I first told my DH in Dec 2009 (at 203 pounds, I'm 5'2") that I was going to run the PHM in 2011
he laughed in my face. At that time my kids were 2&5 and I was so depressed I could not engage with my kids or life or anything. I told him I was going to WDW without him and I was doing this for MYSELF! I will always be grateful for the women I met on DIS for helping "save" me from my old self.

Feb 24th will be my 4th Half marathon and I still get choked up when I think about crossing that finish line.

I think your story is amazing are you run a pretty fast mile too.

 

[JenNel85]

It's not really a "race" at all. Its a personal milestone. I first told my DH in Dec 2009 (at 203 pounds, I'm 5'2") that I was going to run the PHM in 2011
he laughed in my face. At that time my kids were 2&5 and I was so depressed I could not engage with my kids or life or anything. I told him I was going to WDW without him and I was doing this for MYSELF! I will always be grateful for the women I met on DIS for helping "save" me from my old self.

Feb 24th will be my 4th Half marathon and I still get choked up when I think about crossing that finish line.

I think your story is amazing are you run a pretty fast mile too.

EXACTLY! And that's INCREDIBLE -- good for you!!! I know just what you mean; when I announced I was going to go back to Weight Watchers and get control over my weight once and for all, NOBODY believed it...I had failed too many times.

You pretty much just have to set a goal and put yourself first, no matter what, just like you said. And that's why nobody understands how I can endure months and months of early morning runs and runs in the rain and runs when I'm tired all for that one moment: crossing the finish line!

Congrats again on your 4th half marathon -- you're awesome! Maybe I'll see you at the Princess!

 

[Jlinrota]

Hi everyone! I'm running the Princess Half next month, and it'll be my first half marathon and RunDisney event. Could NOT be more excited! I've been following along with the thread (or at least trying to!), and you guys are all so inspirational and have helped motivate me to keep moving forward with my training!

I'm so sorry if this has been discussed already, but I was wondering if anyone might have any feedback on the ChEAR squad packages? My mom, sister, and BF will be spectating for the race, and while I know they can do without the t-shirt and other goodies, I was wondering if anyone could share their experiences with the "reserved seating and viewing," and whether that's worth the additional cost?

I'm leaning towards the package only because my mom has a bad hip and can't stand for long periods of time, so I know she's concerned about actually being able to see me on race day...but I'm unsure exactly what the "reserved seating" means, just how much better the view is, etc. They were planning on trying to see me at the castle and then head over to Epcot for the finish line.

Any thoughts at all would be greatly appreciated! This weekend has turned out be ridiculously expensive already, so I'm just trying to see if it's "worth it" before I whip out my Disney Visa (again).

Thanks so much!

Jen I would love to read your blog. It sounds really interesting! What is the name of it? I have struggled with weight my adult life and cannot believe I am about to run this race. Too exciting!

 

[JenNel85]

Jen I would love to read your blog. It sounds really interesting! What is the name of it? I have struggled with weight my adult life and cannot believe I am about to run this race. Too exciting!

Aww, thank you! That's awesome -- WE CAN DO THIS!

It's www.thefinalforty.com.

 

[cantwaitvaca09]

aww, thank you! That's awesome -- we can do this!

it's www.thefinalforty.com.

we will do this

 

[tinkeramy]

Aww, thank you! That's awesome -- WE CAN DO THIS!

It's www.thefinalforty.com.

Dang, girl - just checked out your blog (which is great) but you should be impressed with yourself - 9 minute miles? Girl, that's awesome! You TOTALLY can do this half marathon!

 

[annmarieda]

Anyone speculate when we will get our corral assignments? I am considering doing one last 10k to bring a time to the expo. I just not sure it will make a huge difference in my placement. I know I would shave some time off of my last 10k time... As much as 46 seconds per mile... But more likely something More like 30 seconds per mile.

Any thoughts?

 

[TiggerAllie]

Hello Princesses! I'm just catching up after a WDW/DCL vacation. I was able to run 14 miles over the trip and did the Castaway Cay 5K in 26:45, even in 75-80 degree sun! Now back to the cold, long training runs of the Northeast.

We did spend a couple of days at WDW post-cruise during Marathon weekend, which was fun. The weather was quite warm (including for those long-sleeved race shirts). I was so jealous of all the runners wearing their medals. But that will be us all soon enough!

This year we have to cut our PHM trip short-- flying in after work on Friday and out again late on Sunday to be back at work on Monday morning. Last year we stayed through Tuesday. Hopefully the race-day plane ride won't be too bad.

I'm seriously considering signing up for the DL Double Dare. We did the DL 1/2 last year, and I really wanted to go back... 3 shirts and 4 medals sounds like a pretty good deal to me.... I have a Disney Visa so I have the link-- do you think it's possible for it to sell out before the official opening date of 1/22? I'm also wondering if they are going to open it early at the Tink expo. I may just have to break down and sign up by the end of the week! (Yes, I am crazy.)

 

[Cripey]

Anyone speculate when we will get our corral assignments? I am considering doing one last 10k to bring a time to the expo. I just not sure it will make a huge difference in my placement. I know I would shave some time off of my last 10k time... As much as 46 seconds per mile... But more likely something More like 30 seconds per mile.

Any thoughts?

Well, waivers are supposed to be available one month prior to race day, which will give you your bib#. Sometimes this happens on time, sometimes it doesn't...it did most recently for Tink though, however it was maybe a week or a little more after that before they posted the corral breakdown on the website. Once you have your bib # though, you can usually make a decent guess about where you'll be though...maybe give or take one corral. When is the other 10k you are considering? A few minutes difference in time could change your corral if you're right at the cutoff of one corral, but if it does it'll probably only be one corral up which will only start you 5 minutes sooner than where you would've been...so that's probably what you should consider when deciding whether or not it's worth it to try. If it's too close to race day, I don't know that I'd risk pushing too hard for a slightly better time and risking some sort of injury that close to race day.

 

[cantwaitvaca09]

Hello Princesses! I'm just catching up after a WDW/DCL vacation. I was able to run 14 miles over the trip and did the Castaway Cay 5K in 26:45, even in 75-80 degree sun! Now back to the cold, long training runs of the Northeast.

We did spend a couple of days at WDW post-cruise during Marathon weekend, which was fun. The weather was quite warm (including for those long-sleeved race shirts). I was so jealous of all the runners wearing their medals. But that will be us all soon enough!

This year we have to cut our PHM trip short-- flying in after work on Friday and out again late on Sunday to be back at work on Monday morning. Last year we stayed through Tuesday. Hopefully the race-day plane ride won't be too bad.

I'm seriously considering signing up for the DL Double Dare. We did the DL 1/2 last year, and I really wanted to go back... 3 shirts and 4 medals sounds like a pretty good deal to me.... I have a Disney Visa so I have the link-- do you think it's possible for it to sell out before the official opening date of 1/22? I'm also wondering if they are going to open it early at the Tink expo. I may just have to break down and sign up by the end of the week! (Yes, I am crazy.)

If I could only win the lottery then I would be at the DL Double Dare and get my C2C!!

 

[Cripey]

I'm seriously considering signing up for the DL Double Dare. We did the DL 1/2 last year, and I really wanted to go back... 3 shirts and 4 medals sounds like a pretty good deal to me.... I have a Disney Visa so I have the link-- do you think it's possible for it to sell out before the official opening date of 1/22? I'm also wondering if they are going to open it early at the Tink expo. I may just have to break down and sign up by the end of the week! (Yes, I am crazy.)

It was open at last weekend's WDW marathon expo for people to sign up early, so I'd expect it to be available at Tink expo too, though I haven't read anything official on that. Also, I've read several posts on the DIS and FB that the Visa card link works for ANYONE whether or not they have a Disney Visa. It's been posted all over the place and people are reporting that they have registered successfully using it eventhough they did not personally get the link and do not have a Disney Visa...so, not sure if that means it'll sell out before the official registration open date, but if you want to do it for sure then I would go ahead and get registered with the link you have.

 

[princessallegra]

Anyone speculate when we will get our corral assignments? I am considering doing one last 10k to bring a time to the expo. I just not sure it will make a huge difference in my placement. I know I would shave some time off of my last 10k time... As much as 46 seconds per mile... But more likely something More like 30 seconds per mile.

Any thoughts?

About 4 weeks from race day.

 

[PrincessV]

Well, waivers are supposed to be available one month prior to race day, which will give you your bib#. Sometimes this happens on time, sometimes it doesn't...it did most recently for Tink though, however it was maybe a week or a little more after that before they posted the corral breakdown on the website. Once you have your bib # though, you can usually make a decent guess about where you'll be though...maybe give or take one corral. When is the other 10k you are considering? A few minutes difference in time could change your corral if you're right at the cutoff of one corral, but if it does it'll probably only be one corral up which will only start you 5 minutes sooner than where you would've been...so that's probably what you should consider when deciding whether or not it's worth it to try. If it's too close to race day, I don't know that I'd risk pushing too hard for a slightly better time and risking some sort of injury that close to race day.

Oh how I hope I have a solid guess on my Princess corral before Feb. 2! That's my 10K proof race in case I need it. It's a stunning course and I'd love to run it... someday... but exactly as you said Cripey, I don't want to race hard and pay the price at this point. I had no time to submit, but I'm not aiming for A, B or C, either. Assuming they go up to H again, I'd be happy in E or F. I've had good runDisney corral juju thus far with no proof of time: C for the TOT and A (?!?!) for the W&D 5K, so maybe...

 

[princessmeghan]

I have a question that I really don't want to face but is looking more and more like a reality. Does anyone know what happens when you get picked up for not keeping pace? Do you get taken directly to finish line or do you stay at the back of the race behind the runners?

I'm asking because my mom and I were training for this race and in the middle of Oct my sister was diagnosed with stage 4 appendicial cancer. Taking care of her and her family has set us back in our training. We are still going to start the race and attempt to finish, but I want to be prepared for getting picked up just in case...

I hope your sister is doing okay. Many thoughts and prayers.

Is anyone else getting super nervous about the upcoming race?

I've been training, have a coach and am still worried about my pace. I guess training in the frozen north has it's disadvantages.

Um yes!!! You ladies are all way ahead of me in training. My longest run so far is 6 miles. I'm following Hal Higdons half plan (novice). This weekend is 7. I'm dealing with awful shin splints so I haven't run much over the last 10 days. I'm losing sleep over stress about not being able to run. I'm going to attempt 7 on Friday though.

What goes up must come down.

 

[JenNel85]

Dang, girl - just checked out your blog (which is great) but you should be impressed with yourself - 9 minute miles? Girl, that's awesome! You TOTALLY can do this half marathon!

Aww, thanks so much! Appreciate it!

I have a feeling I definitely won't be running 9 minute miles for the half -- I'm a sucker for photo ops, so I anticipate lots of character meet and greets!

 

[sherekhan]

Thank you, Mizbrix, for donating to our races for Shot@Life! What a fun surprise to see a donor referring to me by my Disboard name on the fundraiser website.

I was going to bag it tonight as too late, but you've encouraged me to get on that treadmill and get 4 in before bed. Thanks for the second wind I needed.

If anyone else would like to donate and encourage me and my princess daughters as we do the weekend of races for our favorite charity, please visit http://www.crowdrise.com/shotlife/fundraiser/cindylevin We're almost 20% to our goal and we've got a ways to go to save 250 kids!

 

[Miz Diz]

I did the Hot Chocolate 15k in Atlanta this morning. It was the hardest race I've ever done. It was warm, muggy,and ALL HILLS! I had horrible shin splints but finished in descent time- 1:44:49.
I'm not the least bit worried about the PHM after this race. No hills!

I did that one, too! Your time was much better than mine. It was my first race. I was just glad to finish. Those hills were killing me and I am also having horrible shin splints/lower leg pain. I'm still limping.

 

[Miz Diz]

Do they have a place to check bags or is that just for the race retreat?

Does anyone know how often they have water stations. I'm trying to figure out if I need to carry water.

 

[belle2211]

I think it feels like someone's driving an ice pick into the outside of my knee. Totally debilitating; there is no "run through it." I didn't find the foam roller to be painful until I found THE SPOT. The Spot can be anywhere up and down you IT Band, so it takes some work to locate it. And it's not really the band itself that you're rolling; it's a steel-cord-like tendon that can't be stretched much. What you're really targeting are the muscles around it that tense up. The pain in the knee is bone, or really a small bursa sac just on top of the bone - when things tighten higher up in the leg, the IT Band gets stretched taut against the knee joint. When we run on that, the IT Band rubs against the bursa sac between it and the bone, creating friction. That's the pain, but not the actual site in need of therapy.

Here's the thing - you MUST let the inflammation at the knee go away before you can begin recovering. MUST. I took 3 weeks off and could've used 4 or 5. No running, walking or elliptical - nothing that creates that friction. The foam roller and exercises are designed to stretch out adhesions and muscle spasms and to build strength in the supporting network of muscles. But all is a waste if you don't also ID what brought on ITBS in the first place. Mine was easy; always running the same side of our very canted roadways created mega knots in my outer quad and gluteus medias, which tightened my IT Band.

Thanks for all of the advice! I still haven't found the spot. Foam rolling all areas of my thighs (front, back, side) isn't the least bit painful. Now, foam rolling my calves is another story--ouch!!

What you described about the pain makes perfect sense now! Thank you for explaining what no doctor/PT did!!

I initially took 3 weeks off but then ran a couple of times right before the half. And I have 5 more races until the middle of March. But then I'm going to take a good 6 weeks off before training for the DL Dumbo Double Dare.

As for what causes it. I run the same side of the road always, but it's a there and back run and on half my right side faces the side of the roadway and the other half, the left side faces the roadway. That should make it slightly okay, right?