Has anyone done a rundisney event while on a family vacation?

[princessmorgan]

My husband and I have started training for a half marathon. We'd like to do the half in January and bring my mom to watch the kids while we run the event. However we'll probably come early to combine it with our family vacation. This will be our first big running event and I don't know if we'll be too tired from parks and things to actually run on the weekend Has anyone ever done this? Thanks!

 

[es45]

First, congratulations to you and DH for training for your first half. Disney is a great place to run your first race.

When does the race fall in your vacation schedule? You really shouldn't a lot of park time prior to the event, especially since this is your first half. At least make the day prior a resort day or perhaps visit DTD. That way, you'll be well rested and ready for the race. Enjoy the parks AFTER and be sure to wear your medal!

 

[Princess on the Run]

We're combining the Princess Half with a family trip this coming year. We'll arrive Friday or the expo/packet pickup. DH and the kids are running Saturday morning and I'm running Sunday. Then we'll spend the next week there for vacation.

I preferred to book the trip so the run is first and then the trip so we weren't exhausted from vacation going into a run. This way we train at home like normal, get there and run, then play!

 

[princessmorgan]

Thanks for the advice and motivation! Our plans aren't set in stone, because we just decided on this lofty goal Maybe we'll do one park day and then a rest day and then run on Saturday. I just want to leave before the MLK crowds come later the following week. Thanks again!

 

[cewait]

My husband and I have started training for a half marathon. We'd like to do the half in January and bring my mom to watch the kids while we run the event. However we'll probably come early to combine it with our family vacation. This will be our first big running event and I don't know if we'll be too tired from parks and things to actually run on the weekend Has anyone ever done this? Thanks!

The traditional thought is that you would do heavy park cruising post race. However, with the half, one could easily enjoy the parks the week prior to the race as long as they took it easy in the parks Thursday and Friday. (I would be more cautious for the full than I am the half).

Hydration is key for this strategy. Keep a water battle handy and make sure you hydrate at least as much as you would in your normal day, if not 10% higher.

Eat well - it is too easy to pig out and then leave yourself poorly fueled for the event. DIsney is a wonderful place to dine, but you really have to work at getting the healthy options you want for the week prior to the event. I often order off menu and get what I need for fuel.

Again, do not over do it. Do not wear your race shoes for parking. Beware of time on the feet and try to get as much bench time as possible. It is very easy to develop hot spots on the foot that will blister in the race.

Hope this helps. If possible, post race or splitting the time is preferable, but for the half, as long as you take to for yourself the last couple days pre-race, you should be ok

 

[stargazertechie]

I'm going to go against the grain. I say do the race LAST! Time in the parks (well-planned) make a fantastic taper, and as long as you don't overdo it, it can be quite pleasant.


God forbid you end up injured, but I will speak from experience that doing the race first can STINK! We've done it both ways.

Next time we do a vacation and race, the race will be in the middle of the trip if we can swing it. A few days before, a few days after.

We did the marathon on day 2 of our trip last time. I ended up in a wheelchair for 10 days at the park. Not fun

 

[princessmorgan]

The traditional thought is that you would do heavy park cruising post race. However, with the half, one could easily enjoy the parks the week prior to the race as long as they took it easy in the parks Thursday and Friday. (I would be more cautious for the full than I am the half).

Hydration is key for this strategy. Keep a water battle handy and make sure you hydrate at least as much as you would in your normal day, if not 10% higher.

Eat well - it is too easy to pig out and then leave yourself poorly fueled for the event. DIsney is a wonderful place to dine, but you really have to work at getting the healthy options you want for the week prior to the event. I often order off menu and get what I need for fuel.

Again, do not over do it. Do not wear your race shoes for parking. Beware of time on the feet and try to get as much bench time as possible. It is very easy to develop hot spots on the foot that will blister in the race.

Hope this helps. If possible, post race or splitting the time is preferable, but for the half, as long as you take to for yourself the last couple days pre-race, you should be ok

Thank you for your advice! That does help! I think I'll have to split up the vacation. It will be my first race and with our clan, the parks do take up some energy. Plus I'll be pushing a stroller everywhere! My only worry is the weather. You never know what you're going to get in January. we have done 2 trips in January and one was cold and I got the flu. Last year was wonderful and perfect. Though I hear it was really warm for the marathon.

 

[princessmorgan]

We did the marathon on day 2 of our trip last time. I ended up in a wheelchair for 10 days at the park. Not fun

That does stink! I would be so sad if that happened, not to mention DH would not how to tour with 5 kids and pushing a wheelchair around if got injured

 

[princessmorgan]

Sorry, another question if anyone is still reading this.

I had started Jeff Galloway's half marathon training schedule on his website. Then I noticed the one on the RunDisney site for Marathon Weekend is just a little different. Which one should I follow?

 

[DeerIsleDisney]

We just did this with the Disneyland 1/2. Spent 6 days in the parks and then I ran the half marathon on Sunday... flew out that afternoon. This was my first half marathon and I was nervous about too much time in the parks, but it ended up working fine.

I would echo the earlier advice above about hydrating and eating well. I started hydrating intentionally 3 days before the race and carb loading 2 days before. The day before I ate very little fat and not a lot of protein or dairy - plenty of pasta and rice. In the park I ordered kids meals with plain pasta and tomato sauce and ate bananas for snacks.

Saturday was our lightest day in the parks, but we were still there (and at the expo) more than 8 hours and left during the 9:30 p.m. fireworks. I was in bed by 11 and up at 3:30 for the race. I was careful not to wear my race shoes in the park. Maybe I could have run faster if we had not done parks the day before, but I didn't want to interfere too much with our family vacation and honestly, I don't think it made much difference. I was very happy with my time for my first distance race.

It was a great way to end our trip! We headed to the airport pretty soon after the race. I think sitting on a plane for 5 hours left me more sore than usual, but it was worth it.

Congratulations on deciding to go for this goal! I don't think you will regret it.

 

[cewait]

Sorry, another question if anyone is still reading this.

I had started Jeff Galloway's half marathon training schedule on his website. Then I noticed the one on the RunDisney site for Marathon Weekend is just a little different. Which one should I follow?

Funny, there are about a dozen variations on the theme. Go with the one that is easier to put into a calendar. As information, Jeff's focus is on the long run rather than the midweek runs. I do not think there is much if any difference in the long run line up over the last 2-4 years. I know the runD plan is downloadable as a calendar (meeting) file. That would be the one I would choose just to have the meeting reminders.

 

[princessmorgan]

We just did this with the Disneyland 1/2. Spent 6 days in the parks and then I ran the half marathon on Sunday... flew out that afternoon. This was my first half marathon and I was nervous about too much time in the parks, but it ended up working fine.

I would echo the earlier advice above about hydrating and eating well. I started hydrating intentionally 3 days before the race and carb loading 2 days before. The day before I ate very little fat and not a lot of protein or dairy - plenty of pasta and rice. In the park I ordered kids meals with plain pasta and tomato sauce and ate bananas for snacks.

Saturday was our lightest day in the parks, but we were still there (and at the expo) more than 8 hours and left during the 9:30 p.m. fireworks. I was in bed by 11 and up at 3:30 for the race. I was careful not to wear my race shoes in the park. Maybe I could have run faster if we had not done parks the day before, but I didn't want to interfere too much with our family vacation and honestly, I don't think it made much difference. I was very happy with my time for my first distance race.

It was a great way to end our trip! We headed to the airport pretty soon after the race. I think sitting on a plane for 5 hours left me more sore than usual, but it was worth it.

Congratulations on deciding to go for this goal! I don't think you will regret it.

Wow! Congratulations on your race! I can't believe you parked it for so long the day before your race, lol!

Funny, there are about a dozen variations on the theme. Go with the one that is easier to put into a calendar. As information, Jeff's focus is on the long run rather than the midweek runs. I do not think there is much if any difference in the long run line up over the last 2-4 years. I know the runD plan is downloadable as a calendar (meeting) file. That would be the one I would choose just to have the meeting reminders.

LOL, I didn't know there were so many variations! Thanks, I think I'll go with the one on runDisney's site.

 

[johde]

Wow! Congratulations on your race! I can't believe you parked it for so long the day before your race, lol!



LOL, I didn't know there were so many variations! Thanks, I think I'll go with the one on runDisney's site.

Depending on what you are running now, you may want to take a peek at "Half Marathon: You Can Do It". I've been using one of those plan, as the basis of training this go around. The plans in those books start with a long run in the 7-8 mile range but only increase 1 mile every 2 weeks even late in the plan. Amazon and Google books have preview of the book online for free.

 

[princessmorgan]

Depending on what you are running now, you may want to take a peek at "Half Marathon: You Can Do It". I've been using one of those plan, as the basis of training this go around. The plans in those books start with a long run in the 7-8 mile range but only increase 1 mile every 2 weeks even late in the plan. Amazon and Google books have preview of the book online for free.

Thanks for the tip! I'll check them out.

 

[KristinU]

I did the Princess Half in 2011 at the tail end of a family trip. What was nice about it being at the end for me was that being from New England, it gave me time to acclimate to the temperature and humidity. That was a super snowy winter for us so most of my training was in cold and snow. Between time on my feet in the parks and a couple of taper runs, I felt really ready for the race. I will say, though, that it wasn't my first half, nor was it my first Disney trip. So I felt OK not indulging too much in vacation food, and I felt OK not overdoing my time in the parks on the days prior. My DH ran the 5k and my DS ran the kids mile, so the leading days were not parks-parks-parks.

Best of luck, have fun!