*Doing the Donald in 2010* Jan. Half Marathon Support Thread!

[luvsTink]

A surprise half...oh my! I am trying to decide if that would be a good surprise or a bad surprise! congrats on the strong finish!
I did a 6 miler today on the treadmill.....I was really scared about it then it went pretty well. I even had a momentary thought about getting back on while I was stretching....I let it pass I had new shoes and they did well. My ankles were a bit sore after, but I think it is because my new shoes stabilize my foot differently. I felt like I did after I got custom orthotics.

Next week will be 10 miles, and I will probably do it on the dreadmill also. I am so afraid of falling and getting hurt as our roads are still mostly snow and ice covered.
Only 27 more sleeps!
Anne

 

[liznboys]

Happy Monday everyone! Less than 4 weeks until race day. The final countdown is here!

I have not run since last Thursday. Apparently I have "runner's knee" right now. I decided to take 4 days off and give it rest. But I've got my next long run scheduled for tomorrow and I plan to do it. I hope I'm doing the right thing.

Welcome to all newbies on this thread! I'm glad you joined us. Keep us posted on your training!

Joanne~ That is so cool you did Thunder Road! I had thought about doing it months ago when I first began running, but then decided I wanted Disney to be my "first". However, NOW I am kinda wishing I would have done it. Your time was great, congratulations!

Everyone~ Way to go on all the training, keep up the great work!!!

 

[liznboys]

ATTENTION ALL DONALD DOERS!!!

Jenny/dismagiclover and I have planned a Donald meet for us! Here are the details:

When: Friday, January 8th @ 4pm
Where: POP, outside of gift shop

We ordered nametags from Tracy, here is her thread if you'd like to order one too: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2217748

Let us know if you'll be coming. We hope to see everyone there!

Also remember that the main WISH meet will be right after that: 4:30pm in the POP food court.



(I'm going to repost this every week or so to make sure everyone sees it! Thanks all!)

 

[Ronda93]

Six miles this morning. I started a little after 6:00 and it was 45. I finished around 7:30 and it was 25. Something had started to fall from the sky, too. It was a good idea. Tomorrow is my normal run day and it's going to be 8*.

I've started accepting soreness as a consequence of running. I coasted through the summer and through week six of the MfM plan. Since then about half my runs have included a day or so of achiness and sore legs. Nothing sharp or accute, just my body saying, "hey, we did something today". I begin the next run pain free.

It should hurt a little, right?

Ronda

 

[JoanneNC]

Six miles this morning. I started a little after 6:00 and it was 45. I finished around 7:30 and it was 25. Something had started to fall from the sky, too. It was a good idea. Tomorrow is my normal run day and it's going to be 8*.

I've started accepting soreness as a consequence of running. I coasted through the summer and through week six of the MfM plan. Since then about half my runs have included a day or so of achiness and sore legs. Nothing sharp or accute, just my body saying, "hey, we did something today". I begin the next run pain free.

It should hurt a little, right?

Ronda

Are you possibly doing too much or going too fast?
I don't fall into the belief that running should hurt.
I only feel sore or achy after a harder than normal run where I pushed myself typically with speed or did hill workout. Are you getting enough rest and stretching good before and after?

 

[cewait]

Echoing Joanne

There is a difference between sore and pain. We all feel a little sore from a hard run; a run that pushed a new limit or new distance or maybe runs on consecutive days. Sore is in the muscle. Sore is not in a joint or area of no muscle.

Are you stretching like ALL good runners? A good stretch post run helps lengthen and relax the muscle fiber allowing it to recover faster. Follow that with a roll on a foam roller to break up the little lesions left from a hard or lots of workouts and you should not have lingering soreness.

Also, are you feeding the muscle? Research indicates that if you can get protein into the muscle fiber within the hour you feed the muscle almost immediately, and causing a quicker recovery. This is done with a 4:1 Carb to protein ratio meal/drink within 15 minutes of ending your run. The carbs create a little insulin spike that helps get the protein to the muscle. If you can get this there in an hour you help you recovery process.

How old are your shoes? Are they running/walking shoes or cross trainers. Do you know how many miles there are on them? Are you wearing them every day? Do you have a second pair to rotate? This can create sore. If you are running in shoes past their prime you are not getting the shock absorption designed into the shoe. Likewise, cross training shoes are for just that (sitting in the bar post race knocking back a few). Look at your shoes as a possible source of sore.

A brief word on pain. Pain is not weakness leaving the body – sorry Navy Seals. Pain is the body saying whoa wait a minute you have created an acute injury or have set up a chronic issue that requires attention. Sometimes sore and pain give the same signals and that is where your training comes in. You will need to learn the difference. At 24 miles sore feels like pain when it more than likely is not. Bad feeling in a joint is pain. Pain can be either joint or muscle. Pain needs to be dealt with either through rest or additional attention of med staff.

 

[Ronda93]

Are you possibly doing too much or going too fast?
I don't fall into the belief that running should hurt.
I only feel sore or achy after a harder than normal run where I pushed myself typically with speed or did hill workout. Are you getting enough rest and stretching good before and after?

Thanks for the input. Some of my reading is clearly in the "no pain, no gain" camp. Other sites take a more conservative approach. This is my first half and my first year of running. I started in January so everything is new. I get nervous because a lot is at stake in January.

I have been trying to push my speed up. It's been working, too. I always do a warm-up walk before I begin running, but hold stretching until the end. I could always stretch more. More miles and cooler temperatures have coincided. The worst of it seems to be after a cold outing. After a disasterous run a couple weeks ago, I retreated to the TM. I tried to avoid the cold this morning, but got caught. I know it's cold when I am bright pink!

More stretching...

Ronda

 

[JoanneNC]

Thanks for the input. Some of my reading is clearly in the "no pain, no gain" camp. Other sites take a more conservative approach. This is my first half and my first year of running. I started in January so everything is new. I get nervous because a lot is at stake in January.

I have been trying to push my speed up. It's been working, too. I always do a warm-up walk before I begin running, but hold stretching until the end. I could always stretch more. More miles and cooler temperatures have coincided. The worst of it seems to be after a cold outing. After a disasterous run a couple weeks ago, I retreated to the TM. I tried to avoid the cold this morning, but got caught. I know it's cold when I am bright pink!

More stretching...

Ronda

I also only started running this past Jan and Disney was to have been my 1st half as well. I am not sure what training plan you are following - and I am definitely no expert but I am sure you can get some great advice if you post what you are running in a week, especially as we hit the final 3 weeks to make sure that you are well rested and ready for January.

 

[dismagiclover]

Happy Monday everyone! Less than 4 weeks until race day. The final countdown is here!

I have not run since last Thursday. Apparently I have "runner's knee" right now. I decided to take 4 days off and give it rest. But I've got my next long run scheduled for tomorrow and I plan to do it. I hope I'm doing the right thing.

Be careful with the knee. It's better to be undertrained and healthy on race day than overtrained and injured! Good luck. We're almost there

 

[cewait]

Be careful with the knee. It's better to be undertrained and healthy on race day than overtrained and injured! Good luck. We're almost there

Good catch and great post; I just read right over the original post.........
I would push all the way out to 7 days rest; icing and taking NSAIDs while on the mend.

 

[liznboys]

Be careful with the knee. It's better to be undertrained and healthy on race day than overtrained and injured! Good luck. We're almost there

Yep, I know! It's what exactly that means for my training that I don't know.

Good catch and great post; I just read right over the original post.........
I would push all the way out to 7 days rest; icing and taking NSAIDs while on the mend.

If I skip my long run tomorrow, it will never get done. I don't have time to make it up. So after 7 days, do I jump right into my training plan and not worry about the missed runs? I'm doing the Marathon Rookie plan. (I had to shift the plan to fit my schedule, so the Saturday 11 miles on there would have been my tomorrow 11 miles.) I would love your advice!

 

[bunnyfoo]

Hi everyone!

The weather here is finally turning cold - so I did a few runs indoor on the TM. It wasn't as bad as I had remembered Went out for my 10 miler yesterday and it wasn't pretty - cold and rainy but better than cold, snowy and icy. Got 'em done and I'm going for training tonight!

Liz - When I have really bad knee pain, I get my chiro or PT to give me an ART treatment. It really helps me to get back running. Otherwise, I usually usually ice, rest and sometimes use a knee brace. When I skip a run (or a few), I usually pick up where I left off, not where I'm suppose to be in the schedule.

Joanne - Congrats on your 1st 1/2! Great time too I'd be huffing and puffing if I finished in 2:16!

 

[cewait]

Yep, I know! It's what exactly that means for my training that I don't know.



If I skip my long run tomorrow, it will never get done. I don't have time to make it up. So after 7 days, do I jump right into my training plan and not worry about the missed runs? I'm doing the Marathon Rookie plan. (I had to shift the plan to fit my schedule, so the Saturday 11 miles on there would have been my tomorrow 11 miles.) I would love your advice!

I cannot say how your knee feels but it sounds a lot like a chronic issue that a week off may help. If your knee is bothering you do not feel like you must push through the run tomorrow. You plan has a 12 miler the following week. If you skip this upcoming run just stay on schedule and go for the next run.... its only a two mile increase. I would offer than you might want to cut back on the first midweek run just a bit to get back on track.
As background I am not a big fan of the way miles on built up on the plan. Not picking a fight but there are several training philosophies out there, I just subscribe to one that offers periodization (i.e. pulling back one week out of every four to allow for a better recovery). I only say this to let you know a down week is perfectly fine. If you are too nervous to skip the run entirely, just go out for 5-6 miles and get back in to ice and stretch. I would restate that a week off may be your better choice.

Seriously you will be fine. It is normal to worry about a missed run but unless you are missing a bunch of runs, missing one here and there will be fine. For the record you have enough distance under your belt to get to the finish. Just based on your post I would say skip this run and allow the knee to heal up a bit. If you are just too nervous then cut it in half and ice well after. You will then be able to run your 12 the following week. You have gotten back to Epcot Drive in your training. Getting the 12 the next week gets you to the Castmember Entrance of Epcot.

You will do great. To paraphrase the post above, it really is better to be healthy and a little undertrained than injured and on schedule. And trust me, you are not under trained on long distance runs.

 

[Ronda93]

Yep, I know! It's what exactly that means for my training that I don't know.

I look forward to Coach Charles input. In Marathoning for Mortals a missed workout is just missed. Nothing slides or shifts, it's just skipped. I interpreted that as car trouble, day care emergencies and mandatory overtime misses. Injury misses should be different, I think.

you can get some great advice if you post what you are running in a week

I'm in week 11 of Marathoning for Mortals run plan. So the last few weeks were 15, 18, 16. It tops out this week at 21. Then the taper begins.

Sometimes sore and pain give the same signals and that is where your training comes in. You will need to learn the difference.

I think this is what I need, to learn the difference. All of my soreness/pain is in muscles. The moving parts feel fine.

Ronda

 

[liznboys]

Hi everyone!

The weather here is finally turning cold - so I did a few runs indoor on the TM. It wasn't as bad as I had remembered Went out for my 10 miler yesterday and it wasn't pretty - cold and rainy but better than cold, snowy and icy. Got 'em done and I'm going for training tonight!

Liz - When I have really bad knee pain, I get my chiro or PT to give me an ART treatment. It really helps me to get back running. Otherwise, I usually usually ice, rest and sometimes use a knee brace. When I skip a run (or a few), I usually pick up where I left off, not where I'm suppose to be in the schedule.

Joanne - Congrats on your 1st 1/2! Great time too I'd be huffing and puffing if I finished in 2:16!

Thanks Vicky! Good job on your 10 miles!

I cannot say how your knee feels but it sounds a lot like a chronic issue that a week off may help. If your knee is bothering you do not feel like you must push through the run tomorrow. You plan has a 12 miler the following week. If you skip this upcoming run just stay on schedule and go for the next run.... its only a two mile increase. I would offer than you might want to cut back on the first midweek run just a bit to get back on track.
As background I am not a big fan of the way miles on built up on the plan. Not picking a fight but there are several training philosophies out there, I just subscribe to one that offers periodization (i.e. pulling back one week out of every four to allow for a better recovery). I only say this to let you know a down week is perfectly fine. If you are too nervous to skip the run entirely, just go out for 5-6 miles and get back in to ice and stretch. I would restate that a week off may be your better choice.

Seriously you will be fine. It is normal to worry about a missed run but unless you are missing a bunch of runs, missing one here and there will be fine. For the record you have enough distance under your belt to get to the finish. Just based on your post I would say skip this run and allow the knee to heal up a bit. If you are just too nervous then cut it in half and ice well after. You will then be able to run your 12 the following week. You have gotten back to Epcot Drive in your training. Getting the 12 the next week gets you to the Castmember Entrance of Epcot.

You will do great. To paraphrase the post above, it really is better to be healthy and a little undertrained than injured and on schedule. And trust me, you are not under trained on long distance runs.

Thanks Charles! I appreciate all the advice. I definitely want to do what's best, and arrive in the best condition I can on race day. It's just so hard figuring out what that is. Being a new runner is really confusing/frustrating sometimes.

I think I will go ahead and skip tomorrow and give it a few more days. That sounds like what I need to do. Thanks for helping me on that!

Now if you feel like answering another question... What do you think about picking up my training where I left off, and then reducing my taper by a week? So the next four weeks would go like this for my long runs:
11
12
taper (8 I guess?)
13.1

 

[liznboys]

I look forward to Coach Charles input. In Marathoning for Mortals a missed workout is just missed. Nothing slides or shifts, it's just skipped. I interpreted that as car trouble, day care emergencies and mandatory overtime misses. Injury misses should be different, I think.



I'm in week 11 of Marathoning for Mortals run plan. So the last few weeks were 15, 18, 16. It tops out this week at 21. Then the taper begins.



I think this is what I need, to learn the difference. All of my soreness/pain is in muscles. The moving parts feel fine.

Ronda

Thanks Ronda. Hang in there with figuring this all out too...

 

[cewait]

Thanks Vicky! Good job on your 10 miles!



Thanks Charles! I appreciate all the advice. I definitely want to do what's best, and arrive in the best condition I can on race day. It's just so hard figuring out what that is. Being a new runner is really confusing/frustrating sometimes.

I think I will go ahead and skip tomorrow and give it a few more days. That sounds like what I need to do. Thanks for helping me on that!

Now if you feel like answering another question... What do you think about picking up my training where I left off, and then reducing my taper by a week? So the next four weeks would go like this for my long runs:
11
12
taper (8 I guess?)
13.1

That can work IF your 11 feels fine. If the knee flares up on the 11, then bag the 12. If you do well on the 11 then go for the 12 but again, let your knee be your guide. Then I think I would limit the final run to 6. Stop don't pass go and then you are ready for the Half.

See you there/

 

[liznboys]

That can work IF your 11 feels fine. If the knee flares up on the 11, then bag the 12. If you do well on the 11 then go for the 12 but again, let your knee be your guide. Then I think I would limit the final run to 6. Stop don't pass go and then you are ready for the Half.

See you there/

Gotcha, Thanks!!

 

[cj9200]

I pulled a hamstring and decided to cancel our plans for the Donald. First my foot got messed up and now this. No way will I be able to hobble through 13 miles. There were nearly tears in my eyes when I called DVC reservations to cancel our stay.

The bad thing is that my daughter would have finished. The big BUT is that I have quit smoking and was up to 5 miles a run/walk. Still subscribing and am rooting for all of you to kick major behinds.

Best of luck to all of you. We will see you at another race.

 

[cewait]

I pulled a hamstring and decided to cancel our plans for the Donald. First my foot got messed up and now this. No way will I be able to hobble through 13 miles. There were nearly tears in my eyes when I called DVC reservations to cancel our stay.

The bad thing is that my daughter would have finished. The big BUT is that I have quit smoking and was up to 5 miles a run/walk. Still subscribing and am rooting for all of you to kick major behinds.

Best of luck to all of you. We will see you at another race.

CJ - HANG IN THERE.

I have run several marathons and even more halves since I started with Disney in 1999. I was turning 40 and my body was a wreck. It took me two years to get to my first half and even then I was not really trained well.

Look back on where you started when you decided to start this journey. You have made TREMENDOUS gains in improving lifestyle and health. This SHOULD NOT and hopefully will not get you down very long. Hamstrings are fickle. Give it 3-4 weeks that head back out the door. I would challenge you to find a trainer to help with body mechanics between now and the next race you attempt. It's not really obvious but a little help from a critical eye can get you on the road again and with a lot of momentum.

Hang in ther….it will be a normal process to grieve a bit and also to try to push out of the blocks again a little too fast and too hard. Heal first, then hit the road.