Half Marathon - Train with me for Jan '11 - ...Shock - an update! 4/06! new pix

[Sandy321]

Dolce I hope the doctor will help you!! IT is not fun!

Lisa Yikes on the water issues! and I also LOL at the IT computer comparrison!!

Michelle age is a state of mind... its just a number and yes, mine is a BIG number (bigger than yours!! !)

Maroo The Donald Half had 24,000 registered runners (the full had 24,500) but only 17,??? finished... again I think the weather had a LOT to do with it! Between the sweep at mile 8 - which was supposedly HUGE!

In '08 I was able to keep ahead of the 16. min mile pacer because I started in a higher wave - and I was young and innocent...

in this last Half Marathon, I was behind in training (due mostly to the hip) I did 15 min miles early on, but slowed way down... but I never encountered that 16 min mile pacer - nor the 3 hour 30 min balloon pacer... so in part I thought I was good as long as they hadnt passed me!! In the end I took just under 4 hours to finish - and I was "official" In '08 I took 4 hours and 10 min to finish and I was NOT "official"....

So your chip time - to keep away from sweepers, you may want to "cheat" by lining up outside of the corral - wave 2 and just jump in - make sure your chip beeps at the start or you wont be official... and dont stop to take pictures - if its warm, you will have to drink a bit of water, chew those knox blox - and if you must - you must pee - I suggest knowing where the potties are in MK so you wont have to stand in lines!! (the one in Frontierland has the most, but it was closed, since it was cold, I didnt drink water, I didnt need to pee! but that's not going to be the case in March! Train, know your body's needs!! Medical will pull you if you are looking "bad" Medical and sweepers were both riding near me and thought since I was in such great spirits, I could keep going...)

or - join as many races as you can and submit your best time!! (I'm going to be submitting a 5K - I have good times in 5k's!!)

Here I am at the epcot turn around - knowing no one was behind me - but I was good!

Then the proof I was "Dead Last Finish" physically - with chip times, there were 100 + behind me - just not physically! Its a huge mental game!

so you can almost read the time I crossed was 4 hours 23 min - but when they subtracted or took my chip time - my official time was 3 hours 58 min I believe ( Liz sent me the stats - I'll post it when I upload it to photobucket )

BTW - I'm working the rest of this week!! WOOHOO ($300 in 2 weeks!) still hoping Dh starts work by next Monday - we have this leaky money pit - and nothing filling it up yet... DS wanted DH to fund his 1st year anniversary (after all we went to Disney... um it was paid for LAST JUNE!) we dont even have a bed to sleep in! Kids...

Ryan is much better!! yay... hoping he gets some of the money back he paid for tuition for the semester he never went to!

 

[All7OfUs]

that's nice and All7ofUs REALLY need to sign up for the 2011 1/2 marathon. They've been on here this entire time - they might as well run it! They should already be able to mumble our crazy training plans in their sleep!

Yeah, just about! I need to focus on moving back and figuring out a bunch of other stuff related to just life! Then, I'll think about training and joining in.

 

[maroo]

Sandy...that makes me feel MUCH better! That I can get pretty close to 4 hours and still finish.

Honestly...I don't care about "official"...I want the bling!


I am sure that the weather had a great deal to do with folks that did not even show up to start and those that got swept. I am not sure what I would have done that morning? I guess if I was dressed for it....???

I am losing my fear of not even being able to walk 13.1 miles...and now trying to focus on my strategy for not getting swept!

I was on the phone with my boss the other day when I started walking, so I walked slow and was able to warm up at 18.5 min mile pace for the first mile. Then once I got off the phone, I started "really" walking and got to a 16 mile pace. I did 2 miles at under a 16 min pace. (Mile 3 and 4, I think.)

Yesterday I just started off and was going to just walk 3 miles...so I started out trying to make 16 min pace and ended up really cramping up because I didn't really warm up...so my next mile was 17 min pace. I ended up going slower and not sure I could have kept on for 13 miles because I was so cramped up.

So...at this point I am thinking that I will really try to keep an 18-19 min pace that first mile for my next couple of training walks and see how that goes. I am going to try to find some music that helps me stay slower than I may want to go. I know that warming up well will allow me to be much faster and avoid major pain or injury.

I also purchased a Garmin. I got the old Forerunner 205, because I don't really need the heart rate stuff and it was on sale on Amazon (just over $100, which was the lowest price I have seen on it). So, I am going to load that in my computer tonight and see how that works. I think having it will encourage me to do outside walks since it won't really give me any data inside.

 

[dislvr74]

Maroo, check out www.djsteveboy.com/podrunner.html for running music. Each podcast is a consistent beat per minute and they really help with pacing. They generally keep me from slowing down as I get tired because I just can't help but stay on the beat. I am a slow runner and use the 170 bpm mixes. For walking, I tend to use the 145 bpm mixes. There is a good post in the general WISH information thread about counting your steps per minute that you should find helpful.

I love my forerunner 205. It is so great to see my mile spilts and get a real sense of my pace. I'm just lost without it.

Sandy, Ryan's tuition should get direct deposited back into his account. He needs to call 217-333-2180 to follow up on this. If he is like most college students I know, it probably hasn't occured to him to log into UI-Integrate to check his account balance! I think he will need to log in as a UIUC student (we all use the same system, but you have to select your campus while logging in). It's probably just easier to call student accounts at that number. Remember, he needs to tell them that he cancelled his enrollment - he did NOT withdraw.

 

[eyor44]

Maroo[/B] The Donald Half had 24,000 registered runners (the full had 24,500) but only 17,??? finished... again I think the weather had a LOT to do with it! Between the sweep at mile 8 - which was supposedly HUGE!

Sandy - there were 17102 that finished.

BTW - I'm working the rest of this week!! WOOHOO ($300 in 2 weeks!) still hoping Dh starts work by next Monday - we have this leaky money pit - and nothing filling it up yet...

on working. Really hope Tim gets to start soon.

Ryan is much better!! yay... hoping he gets some of the money back he paid for tuition for the semester he never went to!

YAY! for Ryan being better. Flu?

Thanks.....JOINING YOU FOR WHAT????? I hope you don't mean a marathon? I haven't even run a 5K yet! ---In all seriousness, I would love to be able to do such a thing. I really need to check out that website Sandy mentioned that helps you train for marathons.

I walked the whole way. Well, most of the way. Occansionally I would jog past someone.

Thanks for the laugh! I actually may go and see a sports doctor about it. I found one today who sounds good. I'd already planned to take a couple of months off from running to let it heal but now I'm paranoid that's it's more severe than I assume and won't heal on its own. I don't want to wait 2 months only to discover that it's not healed and that I need to see a doctor. So, I'm going to go and see a doctor now. I really want to run. I had such a good experience last Sunday, I'm eager to run and train for 2011 now. Are you doing the half or full next year?
Hope the doctor is ablet to help you and give you some answers. I will be doing the 1/2 next year. Just not too sure about the Full yet. But it could be in my future. ......

that's nice and All7ofUs REALLY need to sign up for the 2011 1/2 marathon. They've been on here this entire time - they might as well run it! They should already be able to mumble our crazy training plans in their sleep!
Yes, you both should definitly join us. Despite the weather, it was a lot of fun.

dislver: If you want to try for the full - go for it! You know that I was injured last Sunday and had to walk half of it due to injury. I still came in under 6 hours. 5,000 people finished after me and 8,000 people never even made it to the finish!

WOW! That's a lot to have not finished.

I start back walking tonight.

 

[Dolce27]

Sandy: My insurance isn't the best for this issue, apparently. I looked for a doctor today and basically I had two options and both doctors were a fair distance away from me. In fact, one is in the town that I moved from last Thanksgiving. I'd hoped to find one close to work and just take a long lunch break for a doc's visit instead of PTO to drive to an apt. and drive back.

Congrats! On the income this week! Any word on what date your husband will start his new job? I was under the impression that date had already been firm - had it not?

maroo: You'll do great! Just keep with the training. You'll get that bling!

eyor: I hope that your walk tonight went great.

All7OfUs: 2012? (I may go Goofy that year)

 

[All7OfUs]

All7OfUs: 2012? (I may go Goofy that year)

I'm already Goofy!

 

[Dolce27]

I'm already Goofy!

Great! Then you can join me!

 

[eyor44]

I walked 4 miles last night. Sad, sad time, but after over a week off? If the weather clears (tornado warnings tonight) I'll would like to go to the track tomorrow night.

Dolce - understand about using long lunch hours for things like that. I have a great supervisor when it comes to stuff like that. Hope you are able to find one you like that can help you.

Would you believe that until last night, I had visions of a Goofy bling. Last night squashed those thoughts, at least for the time being. Until I have my next good walk and then I'll be Goofy.......

Hey All7ofUs, maybe we can be Goofy and get up early to cheer for Dolce while she runs for her Goofy...

Sandy love the pictures. I hadn't got to see them until now. and I love how you are smiling and it is a great picture with Spaceship Earth behind you. Plus the escort! The first people in didn't have it so good.

 

[Sandy321]

Goofy I dont think dh is going to do Goofy again - because he realized it was hard to do Goofy AND go on vacation!!

But getting in 13.1 miles? I think it forces me to train thru the year - and that's a good thing!

DS #2 went to the health center yesterday "MOM, how did you know I needed antibiotics, you were right, I did have an infection" Oh darling kids, when will they learn, mothers truly do know best!! (that and the fact this child is never sick, when something is wrong, its REALLY wrong!!)

My dad is having surgery this am - for rotator cuff shoulder, hope it will be the easy surgery, and recovery!

DH is still nursing a cold, and cough, and my foot is still swollen... apparently when you dont wear the KT tape, after having it on for awhile there is something about blood flow? I'm still teaching today - I cant wait till the swelling goes down and I can wear shoes!!

well kids are coming in... and I have a few plan periods, so I finally read the book I got awhile back - Knitting Club = WHAT A RIPOFF! Seriously, I hate when the main characters cant have happy endings. I"m not going to read any book club books EVER again! <stomps off> and there is a Knitting Club II ? I dont even want to knit after reading the last chapter!! (I was back into it at the beginning!)

 

[dislvr74]

You know, those 5th anniversary Goofy medals were pretty cool. I'm kind of, sort of, thinking about going Goofy in 2015 for the 10th anniversary. My oldest would be 14 then and could help babysit during those extra long runs (my DH works every other weekend). hmmm.... something to think about.

I finished week one of the non-runners pre-training plan. I had to run 5 minutes, walk 5 minutes for a total of 30 minutes. It was really hard! It took three workouts before I could run a full 5 minutes three times. Tonight I'm supposed to run 10 minutes, walk 5 minutes for a total of 30 minutes. Yikes! This is really hard for me because I've been doing walk 1 min/run 1 min intervals for over a year. I'm still using that interval for my long runs in preparation for the princess half. But, I'm really hoping to do longer running intervals in May. Someday I would like to be able to run an entire half marathon without walking. I'm not anti-walking (obviously), but I feel like that is the next challenge I want to try before even thinking about doing a full. I really want my half time to be around 2:30 (current PR is 2:53) before trying a full.

Finally, today is my 3 year anniversary of signing up for my 1st half marathon. I can't believe I've already done 7 in 3 years. I never expected to do more than one!

 

[maroo]

I just don't know if I will ever run?

I guess I could try...and I did have myself to week three of the C25K - but I just didn't enjoy it as much as walking?

I figure I may have to jog some for the Princess Half - to stay in front of the sweepers!


So...let's talk sweepers a second...

Do you have any warning? That they are coming? Do they tell you to get a move on before they take you off the course? How will I know?

I guess I will know from the Garmin...but don't want to rely on it.

Is there something telling you your time as you go?

 

[dislvr74]

It is so nice to have something to do while I'm running academic standing reports. They take forever to run.

Maroo,

First of all, if you don't enjoy running, don't do it! There are plenty of people who stick with walking and still have a great time at these events. I've just been doing this for so long now that I need to bump up the level of intensity until I am at a stage in my life where it would be easier to train for a full marathon.

Now, about those sweepers... My mom and I walked at 16:22 first mile because we were so cold and had trouble getting our muscles to move properly. As we passed the mile marker for mile 1, we saw two people standing there with orange flags (I still maintain that they started the timing clock too early because there were hundreds of people who started after us). That was our warning that we needed to pick up the pace. We got scared at that point and started doing 14 min miles. Anyway, I heard from others on the course that there were some warnings for people who were in danger of being swept, but that people who were well below the required pace were taken off of the course. What I mean is, if you were doing 16:20, you would probably get a warning. If you were doing 20:00, you wouldn't. Does that make sense?

As we were going up the second overpass (who designed that course anyway? Why put the two worst hills at the end of the course?), we saw a crowd of people of bikes and a van following the last group of people. I assume those were the sweepers. We finished in 3:28 and I saw Sandy (I didn't know it was her at the time) finish on the big screen and heard the announcement about the last finisher while I was walking to the bus line, so I must have only finished a few minutes before her.

So, long story short, I believe you will get a warning if you are in danger of falling below the required pace. I'm helping a friend train for the princess half and she is right at a 16 min mile pace right now. I suggested that she start adding 30 seconds of jogging at the start of each mile now so that her body can handle it if she needs to jog for a bit in order to stay ahead of the sweepers. The worst thing you can do is wait until the actual race to try to throw in a few minutes of running. You're just asking to get injured.

Hope this helps!

 

[maroo]

that is a very good point! That I should start adding a bit of jogging each mile so I don't get hurt on race day trying to do that stuff!

Thank you so much for the information!

 

[All7OfUs]

I walked 4 miles last night. Sad, sad time, but after over a week off? If the weather clears (tornado warnings tonight) I'll would like to go to the track tomorrow night.

Dolce - understand about using long lunch hours for things like that. I have a great supervisor when it comes to stuff like that. Hope you are able to find one you like that can help you.

Would you believe that until last night, I had visions of a Goofy bling. Last night squashed those thoughts, at least for the time being. Until I have my next good walk and then I'll be Goofy.......

Hey All7ofUs, maybe we can be Goofy and get up early to cheer for Dolce while she runs for her Goofy...

Sandy love the pictures. I hadn't got to see them until now. and I love how you are smiling and it is a great picture with Spaceship Earth behind you. Plus the escort! The first people in didn't have it so good.

Great! Then you can join me!

Not to appear like an idiot, but what is the Goofy? How far? Do I have to run it?? Don't get your hopes up, but it IS a good way to get my DH to let me take antoher Disney trip. HA!!

 

[maroo]

Not to appear like an idiot, but what is the Goofy? How far? Do I have to run it?? Don't get your hopes up, but it IS a good way to get my DH to let me take antoher Disney trip. HA!!

Did I hear you call??



The Goofy is for GOOFY people that want to do the half marathon AND the full marathon in the same weekend!

But they DO get a really colorful and pretty medal for doing BOTH!

The half is called the "Donald" and the full is called the "Mickey"...and those that do both are called GOOFY! And I think there is a name for those people that do all three...the 5K, the half and the full...Maybe it should be "Crazy" HA!

But me...It will always be just the half for me!

I am going to do this half marathon and then start making commitments for the next one!

But...I will say this....If you decide to do the half in 2012...I will have to come and do it, too!

 

[Sandy321]

found a computer to Dis on!! Instead of eating lunch (I had a power bar) I'm dis'in!

dislvr in '08 there was "regular" sunny FL weather, and when WISH'ers finished racing, they waited for everyone - this year was NUTZ! That line for the Bus was STUPID long, and no reason for it - all those empty busses, and all those people nearing hypothermia!

I cant believe I missed you!!

Maroo my experience with the sweepers are 2 - In '08 there were two pacers, one was for Team in Training - they carried a sign that had their paces, so I knew where the 16 min pacer was, another carried balloons with times 2:30 3:00, 3:30 min - I stayed in front of the 16mm and 3:30 until I hit mile 10 1/2 then I was passed, and couldnt keep up - but I wasnt swept - because I got to mile 12 just barely ahead of the sweepers - in that year the bikes carried the orange flags and would bike back and forth and say - "you have 18 min to get to mile 9" you have _____ min to get to mile 10 or you'll be swept" In that year it was written that there was no sweep after mile 10 - BUT the sweepers said this year we have to sweep at mile 11, and I seriously didnt think I'd make it... I did, but I wasnt an "official" time person - I was told they turned off the mat after the 16mm Team in Training went /finished...

This past race maybe because of the cold and wind, the bikers didnt have flags, and I didnt even realize they were sweeping!! Just had a nice conversation.... then when a bus went by me at mile 9 she said you might want to pick up the pace - and I did jog then -

so dislvr's advice is a good one. If you post on the WISH board there are many walkers over there - strictly walking - BUT they walk at a 15mm pace!! I couldnt keep up with their walking... I am comfortable with my "wog" a steady 1-2- 1-2 short steps - it feels like "jogging" but it certainly is slow!! but like disluvr said - I do practice while wogging to pick up my pace from "here to that tree" and then try and maintain an even steady beat...

There indeed were people waving an orange "cloth" by Mile 9 and 10 - but I didnt really pay them any attention - because I hadnt been passed by that 16mm pacer dude! It wasnt until I was on the ramp after Mile 10 heading to Mile 11 that I realized there wasnt anyone behind me! Believe you me - I ran as fast as I could and passed about 20 people!! I know my bike sweeper friend chuckled... at Mile 11 she was checking the port-a-potties and 2 girls introduced themselves and we tried to do the "run to that sign" but eventually they kept going and I slowed down... the biker sweeper was talking to people behind me , and I kept on course.... I felt really good, but I just couldnt go fast!!

and yes, the police cars and vans were back there.... its a terrifying sight, feeling...

but if I CAN DO IT - - YOU can do it!! Seriously!! Run your race - walk your pace!! Believe. Train. Believe!!

 

[All7OfUs]

Did I hear you call??


The Goofy is for GOOFY people that want to do the half marathon AND the full marathon in the same weekend!

But they DO get a really colorful and pretty medal for doing BOTH!

Too bad they're wearing it in their coffins!!

No way, no way, no way, Jose!!! Goofy is definitely NOT what I'd call them!! Crazy, maybe. Insane, yeah.

 

[maroo]

You would be amazed by the number of people that do the Goofy each year...it tops 5000 - at least - and they had to re-open it back up this year to MORE people.

I don't see the draw.

But the medal was pretty!

Click Here to see Goofy Medal for 2010 - 5th Anniversary Medal


Sandy - I am hearing you on the pacers...and I am glad to have your experience to draw from. I hope I don't have any idea about those sweepers after this one!

I feel pretty good about my training so far...I just have to stay with it! So far I am on track.

 

[All7OfUs]

But the medal was pretty!

So.

Diamond rings are pretty too, and all I had to do for one of those was get married.