Calling all Princesses! (2014 Princess half marathon board)

[afnaechiquita]

Yikes that looks miserable! Hope it clears out for you soon. Every few years we'll get nasty smoke from wildfires and it is awful.

It feels miserable. My apartment smells like a barbecue!

I just got a response from SparkleSkirts that they will be producing a solid brown sparkletech this summer. I need it for my Cinderella in Rags 10K costume for Princess weekend and for my Fawn the Fairy Tink costume. I just can't imagine running in anything other than a sparkeltech (yes I'm spoiled) so this is the best news I've gotten all week!

A brown skirt - I may now change my costume idea to a chipmunk! That is good news!

Ran my local half today. It didn't start until 8:30 am (no idea what the race organizers were thinking!), so it was pretty warm and humid. Ran with a friend - normally we start together, and if someone pulls back the other will go ahead - but she was hurting pretty bad and I was a little worried about her, so I held back and stuck it out with her. Later on I heard there were 5 hospitalizations due to heat distress, which honestly doesn't surprise me. It was a great race and alot of fun - but a start time of 6:30-7 would of made a huge difference!

Ick, how awful. I agree with another PPer - an earlier wake-up time is well worth it when you consider the heat issue. Good thing you two stuck together!

 

[JamieLM]

Does anyone know, since we were able to book our room before 180 days, are we able to make dining reservations now? Thank you.

 

[longhorns2]

Does anyone know, since we were able to book our room before 180 days, are we able to make dining reservations now? Thank you.

Nope. 180 days

 

[JamieLM]

Ok thank you. Also, does anyone know how long after the race you are there, getting medals, etc. Or does Disney try to get you out of the area and back on buses immediately?

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Ran my local half today. It didn't start until 8:30 am (no idea what the race organizers were thinking!), so it was pretty warm and humid. Ran with a friend - normally we start together, and if someone pulls back the other will go ahead - but she was hurting pretty bad and I was a little worried about her, so I held back and stuck it out with her. Later on I heard there were 5 hospitalizations due to heat distress, which honestly doesn't surprise me. It was a great race and alot of fun - but a start time of 6:30-7 would of made a huge difference!

Ugh! Not good! We have an 11.6 mile race at the beach in August, it starts at 9am. DS16 wants me to run it with him and I told him he was crazy. Even he struggled and he's a great runner. People were passing out feet from the finish line. It was insane. I even had a hard time as a spectator.

Wow, I was just looking at their website. I saw one pinned on Pinterest. I may have to order one to give it a try. Glad to hear a good review before I decide!

Was it blue with a yellow ribbon? If so, that was probably my pin.
I need to start ordering soon, I don't want to wait until the last minute.

Sent from my iPhone using DISboards

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Did a 3 mile run yesterday. First lap (1.6 miles) was ok and felt pretty good, completely fell apart the second lap though. I had to take a quick break 1/2 way through the second lap then shaved 5-10 seconds off 3 or 4 run intervals. But still managed a 13:58 pace. My pace in the treadmill has consistently been 14:41. So I guess I'm getting better even though it was a bad workout yesterday.

Sent from my iPhone using DISboards

 

[Cripey]

Ok thank you. Also, does anyone know how long after the race you are there, getting medals, etc. Or does Disney try to get you out of the area and back on buses immediately?

They mostly just usher you quickly through the finishers chute...they want you to get your medal and keep it moving...whether that be straight on to the finisher pics lines or the medical tent. After those, you hit the food/drink tables and then through the bag tents where you can claim your bag or walk on through to finishers reunion area. I've never seen anyone there trying to get anyone to get on busses...most people are just hanging around to strech, taking pics with the fam, etc. No rush there.

 

[Twingle]

Lord help us if they come out with a special edition New Balance that is Princess themed!

I literally said out loud -oooohhhhh

 

[IleneF]

I literally said out loud -oooohhhhh

OH MY Princess NB sneaks
So I ran the 8mi on Sat. Went to the gym for strength training on Sunday and a "hike" on the treadmill. Today was first run after the 8mi..OUCH. Hips still hurt a bit for the first half mile, then the arch started to twinge, that resolved and the toe started rubbing (never happened before!). All in all it was a miserable workout in a HOT gym. I was pouring sweat...all for a 5K. I did almost keep my 12:17 pace at 12:34 tonight..go figure shorter distance longer pace Some of it might have been due to an imminent headache and the fact I ate too close to run time and likely not enough..just a veggie burger on a "thin" roll. Plus I'd not had much all day either. Nutrition just seems more and more important and although my diet is pretty clean I'm likely not getting enough calories or proteins in because I'm stuck in diet brain from losing the 115lbs. Have to learn to maintain.

 

[keahgirl8]

OH MY Princess NB sneaks
So I ran the 8mi on Sat. Went to the gym for strength training on Sunday and a "hike" on the treadmill. Today was first run after the 8mi..OUCH. Hips still hurt a bit for the first half mile, then the arch started to twinge, that resolved and the toe started rubbing (never happened before!). All in all it was a miserable workout in a HOT gym. I was pouring sweat...all for a 5K. I did almost keep my 12:17 pace at 12:34 tonight..go figure shorter distance longer pace Some of it might have been due to an imminent headache and the fact I ate too close to run time and likely not enough..just a veggie burger on a "thin" roll. Plus I'd not had much all day either. Nutrition just seems more and more important and although my diet is pretty clean I'm likely not getting enough calories or proteins in because I'm stuck in diet brain from losing the 115lbs. Have to learn to maintain.

Maintenance is hard. I'm still figuring it out. Congrats on your weight loss!

Also...for my wallet's sake I hope they do not come out with princess shoes.

 

[joanzie72]

Nutrition just seems more and more important and although my diet is pretty clean I'm likely not getting enough calories or proteins in because I'm stuck in diet brain from losing the 115lbs. Have to learn to maintain.

Congrats on your weight loss. I too think maintenance is hard. My tip on that is listen to your body. If you are really struggling to at a certain weight, it is ok to go up or down a few pounds. I had a heck of a time maintaining at the highest BMI/weightwatchers weight unless I continued working out for 1.5 hours 5-6 days a week. I gained 10 pounds but I am not struggling anymore. I have maintained that weight for 2 years now.

 

[*~PrincessBelle~*]

A quick question for all you well trained veteran princesses... I just started running not too long ago and im in week 3 of consistently training for the 1/2... right now the longest ive gone is 3 miles with a avg of 14 min/mile

Ideally I would love to see myself get to a 10 min/mile come race time but is that a realistic goal? With 7 months of training what is a realistic goal I should set my sights on? Obviously the key is going to be endurance...that being said I know my endurance will likely improve but will my overall speed only improve slightly or is it realistic to see both time and endurance to significantly improve?

I hope that makes sense...

 

[IleneF]

I have maintained that weight for 2 years now.

Woo Hoo We all have to listen to our bodies, it can be tricky.

 

[JennLaural]

I probably missed this, but can anyone give a little advice on best resort to stay at for running in the marathon! Thx!!!

 

[annmarieda]

A quick question for all you well trained veteran princesses... I just started running not too long ago and im in week 3 of consistently training for the 1/2... right now the longest ive gone is 3 miles with a avg of 14 min/mile

Ideally I would love to see myself get to a 10 min/mile come race time but is that a realistic goal? With 7 months of training what is a realistic goal I should set my sights on? Obviously the key is going to be endurance...that being said I know my endurance will likely improve but will my overall speed only improve slightly or is it realistic to see both time and endurance to significantly improve?

I hope that makes sense...

I started running in March of 2012. I didn't get "serious" with training until May. I would say I was very much where you were a few weeks in... maybe even behind where you are. First I trained for the ToT that was in September. By the time the race rolled around I was running about an 11 minute mile. october it was down to 10 1/2 min/mile. I didn't really run any notable races between October and the PHM.... but in training for the phm, I got my pace down below 10 min/mile. I want to say my pace during the race was just under or over 11 min/mile.

So will you be able to get to a 10 min mile by the phm? YES! Just know that it is likely that even if your long runs are less than that, your overall pace may be more than what you are use to (there are picture stops and potty breaks after all )

 

[kappyfamily]

A quick question for all you well trained veteran princesses... I just started running not too long ago and im in week 3 of consistently training for the 1/2... right now the longest ive gone is 3 miles with a avg of 14 min/mile

Ideally I would love to see myself get to a 10 min/mile come race time but is that a realistic goal? With 7 months of training what is a realistic goal I should set my sights on? Obviously the key is going to be endurance...that being said I know my endurance will likely improve but will my overall speed only improve slightly or is it realistic to see both time and endurance to significantly improve?

I hope that makes sense...

I was where you are when I started training. If I'm being honest, I have trained just enough to get by. I run two to three times a week, and have always just been focused on finishing. In 17 months of doing races I've done 34 races, 9 being halves(going to be 10 in a few days). My very first timed mile was 14 minutes and almost passed out...literally. My best 5k is a 11:25 pace. My best half which was princess in 2012, was 12:53 pace, all of the other 8 halves I have done have been in the 13 min range.

So going from 14 to 10 is a big jump.....but you will have to put in the training to get there. There are so many factors and everyone is built differently. I have never really wanted to be a ton faster, but sounds like you have a big goal in mind, which is all you need. I'm turning 40 this year, I'm toting around 20 extra pounds and have bad knees, so those are factors too. I would personally set a smaller goal, say in October/November sign up for a 10k, and make a goal of a 12 min mile. It will give you a better gauge on where you will be for February. You also dont want to train TOO hard and hurt yourself. Good job getting out there! Dig deep! Michele

 

[jmasgat]

A quick question for all you well trained veteran princesses... I just started running not too long ago and im in week 3 of consistently training for the 1/2... right now the longest ive gone is 3 miles with a avg of 14 min/mile

Ideally I would love to see myself get to a 10 min/mile come race time but is that a realistic goal? With 7 months of training what is a realistic goal I should set my sights on? Obviously the key is going to be endurance...that being said I know my endurance will likely improve but will my overall speed only improve slightly or is it realistic to see both time and endurance to significantly improve?

I hope that makes sense...

As a beginning runner, you will see both your endurance and speed improve, BUT I would not specifically try to target 10 at this point in time (meaning your current training pace). With seven months to go, it seems like you should be building your base, but I don't know what plan you are following. Is there really a plan that runs for 30 weeks?

That said, incorporating some form of speed work in your training is a great thing to do. It breaks up the monotony (and lack of progress) in running the same pace for all workouts. If your plan doesn't have any speedwork in it, check out Runner's World for some suggestions. I follow a plan in the book "Run Faster, Run Less" that has speedwork incorporated in it--and at training paces based on a person's current capability.

One thing you might want to consider--to get a feel of where your are--is to do a "magic mile". Basically, run a mile as fast as you can. That gives you a benchmark and may help you set your training paces. Here's a link to Jeff Galloway's web site on it.

http://www.jeffgalloway.com/resources/gallracepredict.html

You will definitely get faster, but don't over-stress trying to achieve a goal that may not be realistic at this point in time. It's a great goal to have--but you want to build towards it. And "more" (as in training/pushing yourself too hard) isn't always better...sometimes it just leads to injury.

Sorry for being so long winded. Hope you get to your goal (injury-free and feeling good!)

Maura

 

[*~PrincessBelle~*]

As a beginning runner, you will see both your endurance and speed improve, BUT I would not specifically try to target 10 at this point in time (meaning your current training pace). With seven months to go, it seems like you should be building your base, but I don't know what plan you are following. Is there really a plan that runs for 30 weeks?

That said, incorporating some form of speed work in your training is a great thing to do. It breaks up the monotony (and lack of progress) in running the same pace for all workouts. If your plan doesn't have any speedwork in it, check out Runner's World for some suggestions. I follow a plan in the book "Run Faster, Run Less" that has speedwork incorporated in it--and at training paces based on a person's current capability.

One thing you might want to consider--to get a feel of where your are--is to do a "magic mile". Basically, run a mile as fast as you can. That gives you a benchmark and may help you set your training paces. Here's a link to Jeff Galloway's web site on it.

http://www.jeffgalloway.com/resources/gallracepredict.html

You will definitely get faster, but don't over-stress trying to achieve a goal that may not be realistic at this point in time. It's a great goal to have--but you want to build towards it. And "more" (as in training/pushing yourself too hard) isn't always better...sometimes it just leads to injury.

Sorry for being so long winded. Hope you get to your goal (injury-free and feeling good!)

Maura

Thanks everyone for your encouraging and helpful responses...

Maura - I am using Jeff Galloway's plan for the TOT 10 miler right now... that plan finishes right around the time the training plan for the princess 1/2 starts (according to the plans on RunDisney website). Thanks for the encouragement too - I certainly wont push myself too hard because I am prone to injury with my one knee...

I think im just being my own worst enemy...when I signed up I said I didnt care what time I finish in as long as I finish and dont get swept...now Im starting to put more and more milestones in front of myself...It also doesnt help that I keep seeing all these people post with such good times and im worried i'll be stuck in the back of the pack. I have to remember that these people though have trained a lot longer than I have...

I think it best I keep training consistently and how ever I perform in 7-8 months time is a helluva lot better than what I could do 1 year ago (totally non-active whatsoever) and I just need to focus on that

 

[Dagna]

I think im just being my own worst enemy...when I signed up I said I didnt care what time I finish in as long as I finish and dont get swept...now Im starting to put more and more milestones in front of myself

I do this, too . It's hard to throttle back and tell myself to take babysteps, it takes time and miles to build up. I don't actually have any good advice for you. Just wanted to let you know you are not alone fighting that want-to-be-better-NOW feeling.

 

[Figment1990]

Thanks everyone for your encouraging and helpful responses...

Maura - I am using Jeff Galloway's plan for the TOT 10 miler right now... that plan finishes right around the time the training plan for the princess 1/2 starts (according to the plans on RunDisney website). Thanks for the encouragement too - I certainly wont push myself too hard because I am prone to injury with my one knee...

I think im just being my own worst enemy...when I signed up I said I didnt care what time I finish in as long as I finish and dont get swept...now Im starting to put more and more milestones in front of myself...It also doesnt help that I keep seeing all these people post with such good times and im worried i'll be stuck in the back of the pack. I have to remember that these people though have trained a lot longer than I have...

I think it best I keep training consistently and how ever I perform in 7-8 months time is a helluva lot better than what I could do 1 year ago (totally non-active whatsoever) and I just need to focus on that

I just want to also throw out a few things. First, you will not be stuck in the back of the pack with a 12 or 13 mile pace. I finished in 2:51 at the wine and dine last year and there were still 1/3 of the runners finishing behind me (per the results stats, not just my observations). Not everyone posts their paces and times, so often, you may only read about people with speedy paces. Second I also want to point out that not everybody is actually able to get to a 7-8 or even 9 mile half marathon pace. I just don't think it's necessarily physically possible. Some people are gifted with speed - and coupled with VERY hard work and dedication, they achieve stunning times. Others of us, like me, are just happy to be out there and although we want to do our personal best, we have other goals also. For example, I am very injury prone, particularly in my knees. And I know if I do too much too fast, or too much speedwork, I do end up pushing myself beyond what my body is ready for. I have made progress that I've become happy with. Here are my stats:
In aug 2011 I averaged a 13:00-13:30 training pace and could run anywhere from 2-6 miles. Prior to this time, I literally could never run more than a quarter mile at a time. Slowing down really helped me realize I could run
By march 2012 I was at a 12:45 pace.
In early 2013 I was at 12:30 consistently and as of now, I can train at 11:45 for shorter distances and average 12 on longer runs.

My 5k PR is a 33:34, this past may, but that really took a lot of focused training for me and lots of 10:00 mile training runs and speedwork. I can't keep that intensity up while training for a longer race like a half, especially when I have multiple races planned, like I do this year and want to stay uninjured.

Third thing I also want to mention is the effect that weather can have on speed. I know for a fact that I am MUCH faster in the fall/winter and early spring than I am in the summer. Humidity also plays into it a lot too. Put in the mileage and don't worry too much about speed on the hot days.