Official 2015 Disney Marathon Thread

[miker1251]

So what's everyone's training schedule like for this race?

After running my first 10k last month, I'm moving up to the Half Marathon for this race. I marked out a 13.1 mile course around my neighborhood and ran that distance for the first time last Sunday: 3:02:30 with 900' of elevation change according to Runkeeper. I plan to keep doing that same distance each weekend with a sprinkling of shorter runs during the week.

This was my first experience needing significant recovery time. It took until Wednesday before my legs felt mostly normal again. I learned the hard way that a warm shower followed by a nap in a warm bed is NOT the best way to recover from a long run. Lesson learned.

I have not seen Coach Charles (started this thread) on in a while. He always reminded us that "we are all an experiment of one." What works for one might not be best for another. For years I have read of the importance of carbs for recovery.
This year I read that proteins may be just as important. Our muscles need protein to properly heal. So I now insure that after long runs I take in a large amount of protein (whey) in addition to carbs. Recovery from the long runs has improved significantly since I have started doing that. Good luck on your half. I am sure you will enjoy it.

 

[FFigawi]

So what's everyone's training schedule like for this race? After running my first 10k last month, I'm moving up to the Half Marathon for this race. I marked out a 13.1 mile course around my neighborhood and ran that distance for the first time last Sunday: 3:02:30 with 900' of elevation change according to Runkeeper. I plan to keep doing that same distance each weekend with a sprinkling of shorter runs during the week.

Since you've already shown yourself you can run the half distance, I wouldn't recommend going 13.1 each week between now and the race. That's a good way to get hurt, burned out, or both. Instead, I suggest going shorter distances and doing them faster to work on your endurance and improving your speed at distance. Some runs of 2 mile warm-up, 2 x 1 mile at race pace - 20 seconds, 5 minutes easy, 2 x 1 mile at race pace, 2 mile cool down, for example.

 

[kristenm514]

Hi everyone! We were planning a WDW trip for June...way too long for me to wait, so I convinced DH that we needed to get back sooner...
I may have used my running the marathon as a motivator for bumping up the trip. He accepted my proposal.
So, I guess I'm running the marathon!

I am a little worried about the short-ish training timeline, but I ran a half in May and run ~15-20mi per week now, with no long runs since my half. I'm planning to do my first long run tomorrow, at 6 miles. All of the training plans I can find are 18 weeks, so I'm a little apprehensive about changing those up a little to fit my 15-week schedule, but I don't think it should be too bad. I just don't want to "cut out" the wrong week and end up hurt.

I'm really excited about the race - nervous, but excited. It will be my first full marathon.

 

[bumbershoot]

Kristen, congrats on the marathon plans, and you named your son my first-loved boy-baby-name! We were soooo close to using Hamish, but went more Irish with Eamon instead.

Though yesterday someone was calling him "Eamish", which I actually thought sounded kinda cool LOL.

 

[RnbwSktles]

So what's everyone's training schedule like for this race? After running my first 10k last month, I'm moving up to the Half Marathon for this race. I marked out a 13.1 mile course around my neighborhood and ran that distance for the first time last Sunday: 3:02:30 with 900' of elevation change according to Runkeeper. I plan to keep doing that same distance each weekend with a sprinkling of shorter runs during the week. This was my first experience needing significant recovery time. It took until Wednesday before my legs felt mostly normal again. I learned the hard way that a warm shower followed by a nap in a warm bed is NOT the best way to recover from a long run. Lesson learned.

What did you do for training in between running the 10k and half-distance? Did you build up to it or just go for it? If you didn't build up to it I can definitely see why you would need such a long recovery! That is also a recipe for injury!

I would take the advice of the PP's and not do that every week. It is not necessary and you will burn out. Most training plans wouldn't have you going that far until December! When I was in between races, I rotated through 8, 10, and 12 mile runs each weekend, but I am an experienced half-marathoner. Look at the training plans on RunDisneys website and get a feel for what kind of mileage you should be doing. Good luck!

I have not seen Coach Charles (started this thread) on in a while. He always reminded us that "we are all an experiment of one." What works for one might not be best for another. For years I have read of the importance of carbs for recovery. This year I read that proteins may be just as important. Our muscles need protein to properly heal. So I now insure that after long runs I take in a large amount of protein (whey) in addition to carbs. Recovery from the long runs has improved significantly since I have started doing that. Good luck on your half. I am sure you will enjoy it.

Has anyone heard from Coach? I'm worried!

 

[ZellyB]

Has anyone heard from Coach? I'm worried!

Me too. I was just thinking about him the other day.

 

[kristenm514]

Kristen, congrats on the marathon plans, and you named your son my first-loved boy-baby-name! We were soooo close to using Hamish, but went more Irish with Eamon instead.

Though yesterday someone was calling him "Eamish", which I actually thought sounded kinda cool LOL.

How cool! I like Eamon too.

Hamish was born in April of 2012 - in June, Brave came out, and one of the characters is...Hamish. My daughter was highly impressed that Merida's baby brother had the same name as her new baby brother.

DD's name is Anna - she got her turn when Frozen came out. Hahaha!

I swear I had no intention of having Disney-named children..but here I sit.

 

[SgtTibbs]

What did you do for training in between running the 10k and half-distance? Did you build up to it or just go for it? If you didn't build up to it I can definitely see why you would need such a long recovery! That is also a recipe for injury!

It's complicated, but in essence, yes I just went for it when I started training for the 10k and now the Half.

When I first decided to run the 10k, I'd had already worked my way up to walking 5 Miles/Day - 6 days per week. So I just went for the 10k distance, but I walked the entire thing. Then I started adding in running, beginning with 1-Min Running to 3-Min Walking, and slowly increasing the running so that by the time of the Disneyland 10k (About 8 months) I was up to 5-Min running to 1-Min walking.

Now for the Half I'm doing more or less the same thing. Running when I feel like it, walking large sections when I don't. Over time I'll adjust how much and how fast I run based on how I'm feeling.

Yes, my first half was a study in leg pain and horrible pace management, but I learned from it and this week already went much better. I paced myself better (13'ish min/mile) and ended up taking 2-min off my finish time. Plus just over 24 hours later my legs are pretty much back to normal.

Since you've already shown yourself you can run the half distance, I wouldn't recommend going 13.1 each week between now and the race. That's a good way to get hurt, burned out, or both.

When I say "every week", well them's more like guidelines than actual rules. I'm sure to miss a good number of weeks with various events, Thanksgiving and Christmas come to mind for example, and the Nationals are in the postseason so that could take some time as well.

I think another important factor is that my personal goals are not really based on clock time but rather how far I can go and how well I feel afterwards. Running my target distance each week is comforting and when I do get to the starting line at an event like the WDW Half Marathon I'm not going for a PR, worried about being swept or being able to finish I already know I can. I'm just enjoying the race as a nice reward for all the hard work that lead up to it.

I do worry about injury after all I'm still a fat old man but evenly paced workouts consisting of easy running combined with walking while avoiding sprints and other death defying activities seem to be producing the results I'm looking for.

 

[bryana]

Ran the OCNJ Half today as my training for Philly/Wdw called for 13 today anyway. Today was one of those runs where it was great, then it wasn't. I got an unofficial PR on my watch but need to wait for official results as I couldn't remember what the clock said when I crossed the starting line. I did great until mile 10.5 when the wheels just completely fell off. If that hadn't happened, I would have PR'd by minutes instead of seconds. I've never had knee or hip pain until today so I think a trip to the running store will be in order this week. I've been running in Adrenaline 13/14s for over a year and never had a problem but I'm lost weight this year so maybe something has changed. Blah. Just when you think you've got it all figured out!

 

[matthew schmidt111]

Well it looks like you had great weather for the race. Was there any wind? I had the same thing happen to me at the Philly rock and roll 1/2 marathon last week. There was great weather, but by mile 10 my legs started to cramp.

 

[Castle2Castle]

I've been running in Adrenaline 13/14s for over a year and never had a problem but I'm lost weight this year so maybe something has changed. Blah. Just when you think you've got it all figured out!

Any idea how many miles you have on them? From most of what I've read shoes only have 300-500 miles running life depending on conditions, weight and form. I rotate a few pairs and a single pair for me would never make it to a year. Might just be that time for a new pair with fresh support.

Congrats on the unofficial (so far) PR!

ETA: see now after re-reading that you say 13/14 so probably more than one pair lol... Oops! In addition to what number shoot says below about feet, shoe manufacturers also can adjust fit and form from one model to the next. Maybe Google a particular model when it's new to see if reviews discuss what's different or the same.

 

[bumbershoot]

How cool! I like Eamon too.

Hamish was born in April of 2012 - in June, Brave came out, and one of the characters is...Hamish. My daughter was highly impressed that Merida's baby brother had the same name as her new baby brother.

DD's name is Anna - she got her turn when Frozen came out. Hahaha!

I swear I had no intention of having Disney-named children..but here I sit.

I first heard Hamish in Braveheart; Mel Gibson's (William Wallace) best friend is Hamish. Crazily enough, the adult Hamish actor is Brendan Gleeson, who plays Mad Eye Moody in Harry Potter!

I actually wanted the name Aidan for well over a decade; Aidan Quinn is what did it for me from Benny and Joon. But by the time I had my baby, everyone else had already had Aidan and Aiden and Ayden and everything else...and I just couldn't do it. So I found an awesome Celtic baby name book with all the usual countries AND Breton, Cornwall, and Isle of Man.

I've been running in Adrenaline 13/14s for over a year and never had a problem but I'm lost weight this year so maybe something has changed. Blah. Just when you think you've got it all figured out!

I'm assuming you mean you've been running in that style shoe, not those EXACT shoes for a year!

Losing weight can do the trick! My feet have changed drastically, even to not always needing a wide width. And I've been a wide since I was 19 and (I think) smaller than I am now. They lost a few half sizes, the width, just everything about them has changed.

 

[bryana]

Well it looks like you had great weather for the race. Was there any wind? I had the same thing happen to me at the Philly rock and roll 1/2 marathon last week. There was great weather, but by mile 10 my legs started to cramp.

It was actually pretty similar to RNR last week (I volunteered at bag check there ) At first it seemed like perfect weather but by the time the start rolled around, it was HUMID. It was manageable until towards the end when the sun decided to come out from behind the clouds and was just beating down. There was no wind what-so-ever on the streets, but there was a good breeze along the boardwalk. It was otherwise a great race, though. Highly recommend.

Any idea how many miles you have on them? From most of what I've read shoes only have 300-500 miles running life depending on conditions, weight and form. I rotate a few pairs and a single pair for me would never make it to a year. Might just be that time for a new pair with fresh support.

Congrats on the unofficial (so far) PR!

ETA: see now after re-reading that you say 13/14 so probably more than one pair lol... Oops! In addition to what number shoot says below about feet, shoe manufacturers also can adjust fit and form from one model to the next. Maybe Google a particular model when it's new to see if reviews discuss what's different or the same.

Thanks! It's official now. 25 second PR.

Yes, more than one pair. I actually just got the pair I wore yesterday a couple of weeks ago so they are relatively fresh. They are my second pair of 14s, and I never had issues with the last pair. I've been having arch pain lately too, which I didn't have before, so I think I may just need to visit the local running store again.

I'm assuming you mean you've been running in that style shoe, not those EXACT shoes for a year!

Losing weight can do the trick! My feet have changed drastically, even to not always needing a wide width. And I've been a wide since I was 19 and (I think) smaller than I am now. They lost a few half sizes, the width, just everything about them has changed.

Yes, style. I'm on my 3rd pair, lol. It's good to hear that losing weight might do it. I wasn't sure if that was something would really affect it or not. It makes sense though. I had been a size 7 most of my life until a couple of years ago, when coincidentally, I packed on the weight.

 

[WDWarchitectureguy]

Yes, more than one pair. I actually just got the pair I wore yesterday a couple of weeks ago so they are relatively fresh. They are my second pair of 14s, and I never had issues with the last pair. I've been having arch pain lately too, which I didn't have before, so I think I may just need to visit the local running store again.

I was an Adrenaline wearer for years because of a pronation problem. But I too lost some weight and the wear areas on the bottom of my shoes changed. I started getting pain where previously I had none. The Adrenaline does provide a ton of arch support so it could be you actually don't need as much now. Last year I switched to the Revena. Similar style to the Adrenaline but with just a bit less arch support and my pains went away. Might be worth checking with your running store. Take in an old worn pair and see.

Most (not all) runners should have a nice even wear pattern in the center of the toe box area. If the wear area is off center then either you are over correcting yourself when you run which could be your shoes or you pronate in or out which can be corrected with a different shoe. The people at your running store should be able to identify the problem.

 

[Aimros]

Since you've already shown yourself you can run the half distance, I wouldn't recommend going 13.1 each week between now and the race. That's a good way to get hurt, burned out, or both. Instead, I suggest going shorter distances and doing them faster to work on your endurance and improving your speed at distance. Some runs of 2 mile warm-up, 2 x 1 mile at race pace - 20 seconds, 5 minutes easy, 2 x 1 mile at race pace, 2 mile cool down, for example.

This is interesting. I'm currently experimenting with not being so hard on myself when training for my second marathon. I was pretty adamant that I do every distance to a T when I trained for my first, and I ended up with shin splints, plantar fasciitis, and am still recovering from an IT band injury that flared up a couple of months after the race. I went out for my first "long" run on Saturday and stopped 1 mile short of my goal because I could feel my IT band getting uncomfortable. Last time I probably would have pushed through, but I am getting better at listening to my body and running for myself, not what's down on a piece of paper.

So I'm curious - besides the fact that everybody is different and trains at different paces, what does everyone do for long runs while training for 26.2? Do you do at least one long run each week, and if so, what is the minimum length of that "long" run? Does anyone alternate a long run week with a mid distance the week after? Most of the training plans I've seen have 16-18 weeks of long runs continuously building up to 18-22 miles toward the end of the plan (right before taper) and I'm wondering how necessary this is going to be, at least for me this time around.

 

[Nole95]

This is interesting. I'm currently experimenting with not being so hard on myself when training for my second marathon. I was pretty adamant that I do every distance to a T when I trained for my first, and I ended up with shin splints, plantar fasciitis, and am still recovering from an IT band injury that flared up a couple of months after the race. I went out for my first "long" run on Saturday and stopped 1 mile short of my goal because I could feel my IT band getting uncomfortable. Last time I probably would have pushed through, but I am getting better at listening to my body and running for myself, not what's down on a piece of paper.

So I'm curious - besides the fact that everybody is different and trains at different paces, what does everyone do for long runs while training for 26.2? Do you do at least one long run each week, and if so, what is the minimum length of that "long" run? Does anyone alternate a long run week with a mid distance the week after? Most of the training plans I've seen have 16-18 weeks of long runs continuously building up to 18-22 miles toward the end of the plan (right before taper) and I'm wondering how necessary this is going to be, at least for me this time around.

The plan I am on for Goofy has built in step back weeks. It will build the mileage up for three weeks, and then the fourth week is a rest/step back week.

For example, for long runs I did 12 last week, 14 this week and 16 next week. The following week, I step back to 7 miles for my long run before another three week stretch of big long runs. Most plans I looked at have something similar, and I think it gives your body time to rest and recover.

 

[Aimros]

The plan I am on for Goofy has built in step back weeks. It will build the mileage up for three weeks, and then the fourth week is a rest/step back week.

For example, for long runs I did 12 last week, 14 this week and 16 next week. The following week, I step back to 7 miles for my long run before another three week stretch of big long runs. Most plans I looked at have something similar, and I think it gives your body time to rest and recover.

That's great! Exactly what I was looking for. I think I am going to need to modify my plan a bit... I don't know that my body is ready to do a long run each week, and I'm more concerned about staying healthy and injury-free at this point!

 

[ZellyB]

I'm a Galloway run/walker, so I typically follow his plans. For marathon distance, he will build up mileage about every 3-4 weeks on the long runs. He jumps that distance anywhere from 2-3 miles. So, long run schedule might be 13-7-7-15-7-8-17-7-8-8-20 for example. The base long runs are usually 7-8 miles in between. Galloway is the only plan that I know of that calls for an actual 26 mile training run. I really think that is unneccesary and for my two marathons my longest run before was 20-21 miles.

 

[RnbwSktles]

This is interesting. I'm currently experimenting with not being so hard on myself when training for my second marathon. I was pretty adamant that I do every distance to a T when I trained for my first, and I ended up with shin splints, plantar fasciitis, and am still recovering from an IT band injury that flared up a couple of months after the race. I went out for my first "long" run on Saturday and stopped 1 mile short of my goal because I could feel my IT band getting uncomfortable. Last time I probably would have pushed through, but I am getting better at listening to my body and running for myself, not what's down on a piece of paper.

So I'm curious - besides the fact that everybody is different and trains at different paces, what does everyone do for long runs while training for 26.2? Do you do at least one long run each week, and if so, what is the minimum length of that "long" run? Does anyone alternate a long run week with a mid distance the week after? Most of the training plans I've seen have 16-18 weeks of long runs continuously building up to 18-22 miles toward the end of the plan (right before taper) and I'm wondering how necessary this is going to be, at least for me this time around.

I am only training for my 2nd marathon (which is part of Dopey) so I don't feel confident to make up my own plan yet. For my first marathon, I followed the Galloway plan that ZellyB mentioned. It was definitely a great beginner plan, but in the end I don't feel like it was enough for me. This time around I am following Hal Higdon's Dopey plan. It's a little more involved than just a marathon training plan, but his long runs are like:

13-7-14-8-15-9-16-10-17-11-18-12-19-13-20-12-8-race

So with his plan, everything gets longer, but there is still a step back every other week. I think this plan is the other extreme (as in too much training) so if I decide to go for a 3rd marathon, I will know how to modify a plan for my needs.

 

[WhereInFlorida]

Following Pfitz 18 week plan here and building up during the first 8 weeks to 20 miles (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 12, 18, 20) and once reaching the 20 mi LR has 3 to 4 weeks between them until the taper (16, 14, 20, 17, 18, 17, 20, 16, 12, 26.2). The weeks between the 20milers are sometimes just LR pace and sometimes they have marathon pace miles in them.