Fairy tales can come true, you got to make 'em happen... it all depends on you. (comments welcome!)

[superchime]

Hi! I'm Kimberly, from North Carolina, and I just ran my first Disney race!

I know if I want to improve I need to keep some sort of training journal, so where better than here with all you nice people!

I was fairly athletic growing up. I danced, rode horses, never really enjoyed running though. I started running in 2015 as a low-cost (hah!) way to get back in shape after.... work, kids, life, etc derailed anything athletic I had been doing. I signed up for the 2016 half marathon, trained for it, did a local 10k for proof of time, got shin splints and deferred my registration to the 2017 race (remember when you could do that?!) The 2017 half ended up being cancelled, so I never actually ran that half. Life, kids, etc took over and I quit running.

Last year I decided it was time to get back in shape. The kids are older and I'm not getting any younger. So I started doing Kung Fu at the school where my kids practice. Fun little trivia fact, my Kung Fu school has its main studio in Orlando and the teacher there was who Disney called on to help with the martial arts moves in Mulan. She most recently helped choreograph the new Mulan scene in Fantasmic and you'll occasionally find her students performing at the China pavilion in Epcot.

Kung Fu was going well, and I overdo everything, so I decided it was time to start running again too. I love a big hairy audacious goal (BHAG) and I love Disney, so I signed up for the marathon weekend half marathon, printed out the Galloway beginner plan, and started doing laps in my neighborhood.

Going into marathon weekend I wasn't sure if I'd finish the half. My ankle had been bothering me and I wasn't sure what was going to happen. I did finish (I'll probably post a weekend recap next) but I definitely have room for improvement. So here we are. I've really enjoyed reading all of the stories and advice here and look forward to your input as I continue this journey. Next stop: the Princess 10k (this was going to be my consolation race in case I didn't finish the half) and, another BHAG for me - the Springtime Surprise challenge!

 

[The Expert]

Welcome! And congrats on finishing the half!

 

[superchime]

Marathon Weekend 2023 report
Race: Half Marathon
Hotel: Dolphin
Airline: Delta

Arrival and Expo days:
The Southwest meltdown made me nervous so I switched my flights to Delta. This meant I'd be getting in a bit later, and leaving much later than originally planned. I do really prefer Southwest. I like their boarding process and I don't care if there's not a screen in my seat, plus the Southwest terminal out of RDU is much smaller and less crowded. But Delta was fine, got me there and back again without a hitch.

My room was ready when I got there so I dropped my bags, changed into shorts, and headed to Epcot with a quick stop at Hurricane Hanna's for fries to eat on the way because I was starving and Disney fries are my favorite.

My ankle had been bothering me for weeks so I knew I needed to take it easy. This wasn't going to be my usual go-go-go Disney vacation. I love World Showcase at night, so it was easy to just hang out and take in the sights. I had a lovely pizza at Via Napoli, watched part of Harmonious (ask me how I feel about those barges!) and headed back to my room to sleep.


The view from my room. I was on the first floor, which I don't love, but you really can't complain about this view. I could see the top of Spaceship Earth and fireworks at night!

Expo Day:
Since I was only running the half I didn't need to go to the Expo until Friday and I was glad to have avoided the chaos of that first day, even if I did miss out on merch. I was wary of buying too much anyway because I was afraid I wouldn't finish my race.
My original plan had been to head to Epcot for the morning, then the Expo in the afternoon. But with my ankle acting up I knew I had to take it easy. I headed out for the Expo around 10:00. Got my shirt and bib, met Jeff Galloway, bought some fuel I’d been wanting to try (spoiler alert: caffeinated sport beans are not for me). Had a pretzel and a pineapple cider and just sat in the sun and enjoyed the 90s music.

I said I wasn't going to cry when I met Jeff Galloway, but that was a lie. He is just so nice and encouraging. I definitely felt better after talking with him.




I was getting nervous about the ankle at this point, so this is how I spent most of the rest of my day. I did head out to Il Mulino for a lovely, very basic, pasta dish and a couple of sips of lemoncello (which reminded me too much of the Pledge furniture polish my mom loved when I was a kid, so I'll pass on that one next time). I was in bed by 7:30. Later than I wanted but it would have to do.

 

[superchime]

Race day:

Getting up at 2:00 wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, thanks anxiety! I didn’t feel like eating. Had some coffee, forced down a pop tart, got on the bus at 2:30 with a bagel and the other pop tart. Chatted with someone who was there with her family, she was running the half and her wife was running the full. I feel like took a while to get there.

I briefly checked in at the Dis meetup, but didn’t stay long because I was really just a bundle of nerves and I couldn't stand still and focus on anything. Definitely want to do better with that next time! Did bag check, port a potty stop, and headed to my corral. I was cold even wearing throwaway sweats. Glad I brought a sit mat. Ate the other pop tart, threw away the poor bagel.

Got rid of pants before race start but kept the hoodie through the entire race because it was still chilly at points. I had decided to try using a throwaway water bottle instead of my usual Nalgene, but leaked on my back, so that was fun and added to the chill.

My plan was to walk to MK and then, depending on my ankle and the location of the balloon ladies, run my intervals after leaving MK.

Running through the Magic Kingdom was just as magical as I had hoped it would be (well, shuffling through the castle was not magical). The spectators were especially fun. I tried so hard to just enjoy the moment I'd been training for.





I started running my intervals as best I could with the crowds in cone alley. I definitely need to plan for that in the future. I knew it might be crowded but it had never occurred to me that I might not be able to run when I wanted to. But still, I was feeling good and my ankle was holding up. Then we came up to the top of the highway ramp and I could see that they had closed the course at the bottom of the ramp. This did cause a bit of panic, and I decided to run more at this point, figuring I could drag my foot the last 3 miles if it gave out.


Epcot was a blur but I knew I was moving faster than the balloon ladies now so I was less worried. I was just thrilled to cross the finish line.

By this point, though, my stomach was seriously unhappy. I had tried a simulated race day at home, getting up at 2am, eating a bagel, sitting around for a few hours, then doing my 14 mile training run, so I thought I had a solid plan but something was definitely off about my fueling for the real race day. My running friend blames the yellow powerade, which was new for me and I should have skipped.

I did not think getting on a bus was a good idea at that point so I walked through Epcot back to my room. Showered, napped, and finally felt like my stomach could handle food again, so it was back to HH for more fries. I canceled my celebratory dinner reservation for that night, though, and ended up just getting vegan fish and chips to go from the Rose and Crown pub.

 

[azrivest]

Welcome to the group of training journals!

 

[superchime]

The rest of the trip:

My stomach still wasn't 100% on Sunday morning, so I took it easy again. Managed to eat a Mickey waffle. Went and cheered on the marathoners at the Boardwalk for a while, then headed to MK to take photos.

I did some photos at MK, hopped to AK for a very light dinner at Nomad Lounge. By that point my stomach was finally ok with life again, so I hopped back to MK for the evening and got to enjoy some rides and fireworks.

The next day my flight didn't leave until 8pm so once again I wandered over to Epcot. I had been playing the DuckTales World Showcase Adventure game so I finished that, had the lovely curry pizza at Connections for lunch, and just enjoyed the day until it was time to head back to the hotel and on to the airport.

Overall it was a good trip. I was thrilled to finish my race and I loved the energy of marathon weekend, people walking around wearing medals, everyone congratulating everyone else. It was just a general positive vibe and I can't wait to do it again.

 

[superchime]

What's next:

I'm going to PT for help with my ankle (turns out I have weak glutes, who knew! It's all connected!) and I'm starting the training for the Springtime Surprise challenge today. I'm using the Galloway app because it has a training plan for the challenge. My PT said I can keep running as long as it doesn't hurt. Today will be my first run since the race last week, so we'll see how it goes. Ankle feels just fine right now.

Chinese New Year is coming up, so I have Kung Fu four nights a week right now as we prepare for our shows. This makes running a little difficult because my legs are already tired, but at least the training plan mileage is still low.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Welcome and congrats on finishing the half!

I had a similar experience when I went to PT for my knees: they told me the problem was really my quads. I thought it was weird but after a few months of PT I was pretty much all better, so hopefully it works well for you too.

 

[superchime]

Welcome and congrats on finishing the half!

I had a similar experience when I went to PT for my knees: they told me the problem was really my quads. I thought it was weird but after a few months of PT I was pretty much all better, so hopefully it works well for you too.

Thanks!

The exercises he has me doing are really hard for me so there's definitely weakness there. I hope it helps!

 

[Naomeri]

Welcome to the madness—there’s no escape

 

[superchime]

Weekly Plan - Jan 16 - 22.

I think maybe I'll write up my plan for each week here, then come back and edit with notes about how it went. I really think this is going to help me stick to my plan because I will put it all out here ahead of time, then I have to come explain myself if I didn't do what I said I was going to do.

PT exercises are supposed to be 4 days per week. They're really challenging right now, though, and I need to save my legs for the upcoming CNY performances, so I will totally skip them if they're causing me pain this week.

Mon - 30 min (Galloway) run following Springtime Surprise Challenge Plan (SSCP)
Tues - PT exercises, Kung Fu
Wed - 30 min run for SSCP, Kung Fu
Thurs - PT exercises, Kung Fu
Fri - 3.75 mile long run for SSCP
Sat - PT exercises, Chinese New Year performance
Sun - Big Chinese New Year show

How it went:
Mon - 2.09 miles
15:42 avg pace
mile 1: 16:25
mile 2: 14:59
heart rate range 115 - 173 (there's a hill at the end!)
temp: 54, dew point: 20
I didn't really push super hard for this first run of my new plan. Ankle feels ok. Weather was gorgeous!
Tues - Did the PT exercises but cut short the one that hurts. I'm going back on Thurs so I can check that I'm doing it right. Kung Fu was fairly easy tonight since they mostly worked on the parts of the show that I'm not doing.
Wed - 2.04 miles
14:51 avg pace
mile 1: 14:51
mile 2: 14:50
avg heart rate - 141
heart rate range - 117-173
temp: 59, forgot to check dew point but it was another beautiful day .
Pushed a little bit more and started to feel it in my ankle towards the end.
Iced the ankle and did some glute exercises before Kung Fu started and it didn't bother me during class at all. Which was good because class was *not* easy tonight. I'm really enjoying being able to do things that were impossible for me last year.
Thurs - Got a last minute PT appointment for this day, so I got some new exercises to work on. Started not feeling great during Kung Fu class so I bailed early.
Fri - Still wasn't feeling great so I pushed today's run to Saturday.
Sat - Did my PT exercises and "long" run, although I was on the treadmill and ended up cutting it short because my ankle started feeling twingy and I need it to be ok for the CNY shows this weekend.
Sun - The big show day. We spent all day setting up, performing, and then celebrating. It was great! We've still got a few more shows to do over the next couple of weeks but this was the biggest one. Here's a pic of my boys in their lion. They did a great job.

 

[DopeyBadger]

to the training journals!

 

[Baloo in MI]

Welcome! Enjoyed your race recap and look forward to following along for your training for SS!

 

[superchime]

Training report
Jan 23 - 29

Mon Jan 23 - Today was a Kung Fu day so that's all I did. Lots of line drills and kicking, which I love, and I got started on a new form!
Tues Jan 24 - This day absolutely sucked. I've been getting migraines since I was a teen. They got increasingly worse until a few years ago when I was having head pain almost daily. I'd sort of given up on ever feeling good again. The the Covid lockdown happened and I changed a lot of things and one or more of those changes made the headaches go away almost entirely! They still creep back in from time to time, and Tuesday was one of those times, so I didn't do anything this day.
Wed Jan 25 - The headache was gone but I still had a bit of headache hangover. I did make it Kung Fu, though, and it was a very stretchy, strength training sort of class. Exactly what I needed.
Thurs Jan 26 - Finally feeling good again (and really appreciating it after the reminder of how I used to feel). Did my PT exercises, went for a run, the weather was nice.
2:01 mi
29:32 time
14:43 avg pace
53F + 34 dew point and sunny
145 avg heart rate
Fri Jan 27 - Did my PT exercises again (Two days in a row? Who am I?) and went for a walk.
Sat Jan 28 - Another Chinese New Year show, which was super fun.
Sun Jan 29 - Did my PT exercises and a long "run" which I walked.
3.01 miles
53:36 time
17:50 avg pace

It was a bit of a frustrating week. The headache took me out for a day and a half and my weak glute/ankle issue continues to bug me and keep me from training the way I want to train. Even just walking today I felt the ankle start to twinge. PT said I'm good to continue activity as long as it doesn't hurt, and I'm trying to be ready for the 10K during Princess and the Springtime Surprise challenge, so I really don't want to just sit around but I need to (literally) get my butt in gear. I do need to remember how much I can do now that I couldn't do a year or two ago. I am making progress, I'm just feeling impatient and anxious.

 

[superchime]

Ugh, hello from down here where I fell off the training wagon again.

The week of Jan 30 was pretty good, I was starting to feel stronger with my PT exercises, got a few good treadmill runs in without foot/ankle pain. Then we went to the Orlando Informer meetup at Universal on Feb 3 - 4. I was doing really well through all of it, even went to the gym at Cabana Bay a couple of times (and thoroughly congratulated myself on being one of those people who exercises on vacation). The meetup was a ton of fun, but very late nights.

After we came home my son and I both came down with a cold. Husband and other son are fine. It's not Covid, just a stuffy nose and cough that won't stop. I'm a week in now and finally starting to feel better.

I feel like I complain a lot here, so I'm going to try not to do that. I'm back to walking on the treadmill and doing the PT exercises that don't involve laying down, because that makes me cough. I definitely think I'll be healthy in time for Princess but it is frustrating to have another setback in training. I'll have to be more careful about germs in the weeks leading up to Springtime Surprise!

The meetup was definitely fun, though. Low or no waits for rides, the food was good. The coaster-lovers in my family got to ride Velocicoaster twice, and Hagrid's once. They could have done these more times, too, but kindly rode other rides with me. Cabana Bay was nice, too. I like the family suite, so my teens don't have to share a bed. We enjoyed the bowling alley and were surprised at how good the food was. I did get tired of the 50s music, but the whole resort is very well themed.

 

[Naomeri]

If you can’t complain in your own training journal, what’s the point?

 

[superchime]

Packing up to head out for Princess weekend! The warmer temps and humidity made me rethink my costume, so instead I'm going with a classic.

I'm still not 100% recovered from whatever crud I had, and my foot is giving me minor issues again/still. It's funny, I registered for the 10k as my "compensation race" in case I couldn't finish the half in January. Now I'm not so sure about finishing my compensation race.

I'll show up and do my best, though, and whatever happens happens. I'll enjoy the weekend anyway.



I'm not sure how to apply my current fitness and limitations to my Springtime Surprise training plan. I think I need to do fewer miles per day on more days of the week. I've got the time to run more days now, just need to figure out what will work for me. Starting new things is so hard. I don't know enough yet to know what I don't know. Ya know? I need a solid plan to get me through the rest of the year.

Ooh, speaking of... I got a charity bib for the Disneyland half! I wasn't able to get registered before the race sold out on registration day, but I contacted a few charities and will be running for Give Kids the World, which is the one I really wanted to run for. I just love what they do.

I was thinking about doing the full marathon at WDW next January but now I think I'll just do that half. That will be more than enough for me, with the Disneyland half the following weekend.

Anyway, back to packing. Hopefully I'll get to meet some of you at the HH meetup this weekend!

 

[Herding_Cats]

I'm not sure how to apply my current fitness and limitations to my Springtime Surprise training plan. I think I need to do fewer miles per day on more days of the week. I've got the time to run more days now, just need to figure out what will work for me. Starting new things is so hard. I don't know enough yet to know what I don't know. Ya know? I need a solid plan to get me through the rest of the year.

I have felt, and currently feel like this. A plan from DopeyBadger really helped me find a groove, and I had to be very honest with myself about what I could realistically fit in. I found, that for me and my family that 5 days a week with one week day off, and one weekend day worked the best. I put my longest run on the weekend because I knew that there would be someone home to keep an eye on our youngest for a couple of hours (this is the benefit of having a 14 year age gap with our kids! ) and I use the "off" weekday so I could consistently be able to plan "other stuff" on (errands, groceries, appointments, etc.)

I also like to chunk up my training blocks around my kids' schedules. Looking too far ahead get tricky (for me) because I'm very good at giving up when I miss stuff early in the plan and it becomes a whole thing where I convince myself I won't be able to stay on-track in the later months, and just kind of throw in the towel. Like right now I'm "supposed" to be working on a 10k plan (that's not happening) but realistically, I'm in "do something and get through until the school year is done" mode.

 

[superchime]

I'm very good at giving up when I miss stuff early in the plan and it becomes a whole thing where I convince myself I won't be able to stay on-track in the later months, and just kind of throw in the towel.

That is exactly where I am right now! I feel so far behind with the plan I'm using, I'm not sure how to catch up. This is why I stopped running the first time. I even told my husband when I started again "I'm going to get sick or hurt at some point and just give up. I need you to not let me do that this time."

I definitely would like to talk with DopeyBadger about creating a plan for me. I didn't want to bother him before I get this issue with my foot resolved and I wanted to get a few more races under my belt so I had more data points. I definitely think it would help to have a plan that can be a bit more dynamic and work around my schedule, instead of taking a pre-written plan and trying to fit it in around the rest of my life.

I also need to be better about being kind to myself and stop comparing my beginning to other people who are younger or who have been at this for longer. I told my son last night that I'm playing the long game here. I'm not going to win any age group medals right now, but if I stick with it, maybe I will when I'm 80! Then again, I saw some of those 80 year olds at marathon weekend... I've got a lot of work to do to catch up to them!

 

[Herding_Cats]

That is exactly where I am right now! I feel so far behind with the plan I'm using, I'm not sure how to catch up. This is why I stopped running the first time. I even told my husband when I started again "I'm going to get sick or hurt at some point and just give up. I need you to not let me do that this time."

I definitely would like to talk with DopeyBadger about creating a plan for me. I didn't want to bother him before I get this issue with my foot resolved and I wanted to get a few more races under my belt so I had more data points. I definitely think it would help to have a plan that can be a bit more dynamic and work around my schedule, instead of taking a pre-written plan and trying to fit it in around the rest of my life.

I also need to be better about being kind to myself and stop comparing my beginning to other people who are younger or who have been at this for longer. I told my son last night that I'm playing the long game here. I'm not going to win any age group medals right now, but if I stick with it, maybe I will when I'm 80! Then again, I saw some of those 80 year olds at marathon weekend... I've got a lot of work to do to catch up to them!

I had pretty much no data points when I started with him. And he has a thorough list of questions and things that he went over with me, and I was completely honest about my schedule. Like, "I'm going camping this week, so I might be able to fit in 2 or 3 runs at the most." or "We do our back-to-school shopping this weekend, and I won't run these days." "I'd like to do this local 5k with my kids." And my plan was built around that stuff.

It's WAY easier to build a plan around your life than your life around a plan.

Also, I just want to say that if your "foot stuff" is impacting you this much...get yourself to some physical therapy (if you aren't already.) I had some issues last year that I thought were foot (where my pain was) that were actually being caused by my calf. As in....I walked most of the 10k for SS, started PT in June, and was running pain-free by August.